Indian playback singer Kumar Sanu's son and ‘Bigg Boss 14’ contestant Jaan Kumar Sanu is courting controversy over his remarks on the Marathi language.
The comments emanated when, in one of the episodes, Jaan locked horns with Nikki Tamboli and asked her not to speak in Marathi.
He tersely told her, "Marathi mei mat baat kar, mere saamne mat baat kar, meko chid hoti hai. Sunaauga teko, mere saamne Marathi mei mat baat kar. Dum hai toh Hindi mei bol warna mat baat kar, chid machti hai meko."
Predictably, the comment elicited angry reactions from Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik and MNS leader Amey Khopkar who threatened the channel with dire consequences, if Jaan doesn't apologise.
Sarnaik condemned the remarks and said that insult of the Marathi language will not be tolerated. He also reached out to the channel’s representatives and Salman Khan’s PRO.
On the other hand, a belligerent Khopkar warned that if Jaan doesn’t apologise within 24 hours they will halt the shooting at Goregaon. He also held out a veiled threat by stating that he will see to how Jaan gets work in Mumbai, now.
Back to the wall, Viacom 18 on Wednesday tendered an apology to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for airing the episode on its TV channel Colors. The channel said in a tweet: ‘‘We at COLORS apologize for the remarks in relation to Marathi language made on the Bigg Boss episode aired on Tuesday, 27th October. We had no intentions of hurting sentiments of the people of Maharashtra.’’
In a letter Thackeray, the network also stated that it will remove the objectionable part from all future broadcasts of the episode.
Earlier, Jaan had said that he didn't hesitate to pick up the offer to appear on ‘Bigg Boss’ as the show is a huge platform for emerging talents.
"One thing I have learnt from the show is that one can never strategise anything. It's such a dynamic game, there is no fixed manner to play it. You have to adapt to the situation. The only thing I have in mind is to be authentic and original. That's what will take me ahead," he added.
