PremiumWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present on stage when Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan voiced their strong messages.
On December 15, Shah Rukh Khan attended the opening ceremony of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) as a special guest. He shared the platform with celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Jaya Bachchan and Arijit Singh. Khan delivered a speech that has now gone viral when Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, was present on stage.
According to SRK, as the world has become “normal", everyone is happy and Khan himself is the happiest of them all. He said he had no problem saying that - no matter how hard everyone tries - all the positive people in the world are still alive. He said “zinda hain" in the Pathaan style, and the entire audience erupted in loud applause.
From the same stage, Amitabh Bachchan said something that seemed like a veiled attack against those trying to outsmart the censor board and dictate terms in terms of movie content. He reminded people that the censor board had been based on the structures set by The 1952 Cinematograph Act.
“But even now, ladies and gentlemen--and I am sure my colleagues on stage will agree--questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression," added Bachchan known for his politically-correct opinions on trending topics.
Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, known for his candid opinions on a plethora of topics, was also present at the KIFF opening ceremony. He quoted Rabindranath Tagore while describing the “spirit of India".
As per Bhatt, India's spirit has consistently advocated for togetherness as the goal of India’s spiritual effort must be to be able to penetrate all things with one soul, to understand all things as they are and not to keep anything in the entire universe out, to comprehend all things with sympathy and love.
“India is there to unite all races. These are the words of India's greatest son Shri Rabindranath Tagore and they echo in my heart as they should echo in the heart of every Indian, 101 years later," Bhatt added.
Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film Pathaan is under fire even before its release. It all started when the video of one of its songs, Besharam Rang, got released on YouTube. Actress Deepika Padukone donned a saffron bikini in the song, and that created an uproar in a certain section of the society.
The Mahant of Ayodhya's Hanuman Garhi Raju Das called for a boycott of the movie and asked that theatres where the movie is being exhibited be set on fire. The saffron apparel was a point of contention for Madhya Pradesh's home minister, Narottam Mishra, who requested that it be changed. In addition, he urged that the movie be prohibited because of "objectionable scenes".
Meanwhile, #BoycottPathaan has been trending on social media as various people, who believe that the movie is attempting to humiliate Hindu religion due to the saffron bikini.