Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s new film Pathaan under Hindu nationalist fire; ‘a contaminated mentality’

Fans are desperate to watch Indian Muslim actor – richest actor in Asia and fourth richest in world – return after 4-year gap, in action thriller Pathaan

Trouble erupted when clips featured Hindu actress Deepika Padukone in a saffron-coloured bikini, a colour the ruling pro-Hindu BJP party claims as its own

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Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Asia’s richest actor. Photo: Instagram

Published: 10:30am, 19 Jan 2023

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s highly anticipated film Pathaan – an action thriller – is attracting right-wing wrath with Hindu protesters calling for its boycott in theatres.

Seen by many as the 57-year-old icon’s comeback vehicle after a four-year hiatus, the backlash ahead of the January 25 release comes amid growing concerns that India’s Hindi film industry is in the grip of the far right.

Trouble began last month when film clips were released of a song featuring lead actress Deepika Padukone, a Hindu, dancing in a saffron-coloured bikini, a colour the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims as its own, and which features on its flag.

Hindu groups and BJP leaders have called the star’s swimwear an insult to Hindu sentiments with protesters burning effigies of Khan, a Muslim, and carrying “Ban Pathaan” placards.

Senior BJP politicians joined the anti-Khan chorus with Minister of Rural Development Giriraj Singh demanding that Pathaan be banned and stringent action initiated against its makers. He did not specify what form that should take.

Narottam Mishra, Home Affairs Minister in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, said Padukone’s song scenes were filmed out of a “contaminated mentality”.