Hours after he feigned ignorance about Shah Rukh Khan, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he received a call from the Bollywood actor who expressed concern over a violent protest ahead of the screening of his latest film, Pathaan, at a cinema hall in Guwahati.
“Bollywood actor Shri @iamsrk called me and we talked today morning at 2 am. He expressed concern about an incident in Guwahati during the screening of his film. I assured him that it’s the duty of the state govt to maintain law & order. We’ll enquire and ensure no such untoward incidents,” the Chief Minister said in a tweet on Sunday.
Highlighting the nomination of the pyramid-like medieval Ahom mound burial structures for the UNESCO World Heritage Site tag, Mr. Sarma had told journalists on Saturday afternoon that he neither knew who Shah Rukh Khan was nor anything about Pathaan.
“Who is Shah Rukh Khan? I don’t know anything about him or his film,” he said when asked if the government would take any action against Bajrang Dal activists who stormed a theatre in the Narengi area of the city on Friday and allegedly set the film’s posters on fire.
Right-wing organisations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, have demanded a ban on the film for showing actor Deepika Padukone in a saffron bikini in the song ‘Besharam rang’.
“I keep receiving calls from many Bollywood people. Shah Rukh Khan has not called me regarding the problem. But if he does, I will look into the matter. Action will be taken if law-and-order has been violated and a case has been filed,” the Chief Minister had said.
He also said people should be more concerned about Assamese and not Hindi films and advised all to watch Dr Bezbaruah, a remake of a blockbuster movie of the same name in the 1960s.
