Gandhinagar : The Supreme Court’s terse refusal to ban Amir Khan starrer ‘PK’ notwithstanding, the Bajrang Dal on Monday took off on a defiant curve vandalizing two cinema halls in Ahmedabad that were screening the movie.
Finally, the movie was screened under police cover. Result: there is heightened security at all halls exhibiting the movie.
Bajrang Dal owned up to the vandalism claiming that the film had mocked Hindu gods and hurt the religious sentiments of the majority community.
Earlier in the morning, about a handful of members claiming to belong to the Sangh Parivar outfit descended on two cinemas located on Ashram Road, smashing ticket windows and tearing up posters. They, however, disappeared after creating a commotion and just in time before the police arrived on the scene. Jwalit Mehta, head of the city unit of the Bajrang Dal, said the action was intended to be a warning to other theatres in the state, to desist from screening the movie. The Rajkumar Hirani directed movie is a satire on ‘godmen’ and superstition. The Dal handiwork, however, failed to garner a popular response. Most saw it as a stunt aimed at gathering publicity for the outfit, which wants to stay relevant. ‘‘The film has been doing well and, if anything, the vandalism will only add curiosity value,” said the manager of a cinema hall. He added that the entire exercise was self-defeating.
Bajrang Dal sources claimed that their activists had called up cinema halls showing the movie and had put out a warning about their impending action but it elicited a lukewarm response. An infuriated Dal then resorted to the show of force.
A spokesperson of the Congress said that the movie was a take on all religions and not just Hinduism. A cine buff, KP Chavda, said that the Dal has a problem with Amir Khan’s identity, since he is a Muslim, even though the movie has been directed by a Hindu. ‘‘Why did they not attack the movie ‘OMG – Oh My God.’ ‘‘Paresh Raval is now a BJP MP from Ahmedabad”, he added.
‘PK’ seems destined to thrive on controversies. The latest salvo has been fired by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who on Monday alleged that the film has been funded by the underworld in Dubai & by the Pakistani Intelligence Agency — ISI. Swamy in his tweet has further demanded an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence into the source of funding in the Rajkumar Hirani directed flick. Incidentally, BJP leader LK Advani recently watched the film and came out praising it. He even said it was a must watch. “Hearty greetings to Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra for a wonderful and courageous film that they have produced in the shape of PK,” Advani had said in a statement.
RK MISRA
