Himanta Biswa Sarma After Who Is SRK Remark

Guwahati:

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said he spoke to superstar Shah Rukh Khan and assured him about the protests against his upcoming film ‘Pathaan’. Sharma said Khan called him early this morning about “an incident” that happened at a theater in the state.

Bollywood actor Sri @iamsrk he called me and we talked this morning at 2am. He expressed concern over an incident in Guwahati during the screening of his film. I assured him that it is the duty of the state government to maintain law and order. We will investigate and ensure that there are no such untoward incidents.

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 22, 2023

“Bollywood actor Shri @iamsrk called me and we spoke this morning at 2 am. He expressed his concern about an incident in Guwahati during the screening of his film. I assured him that it is the duty of the state government to uphold the law and the order. We will ask that there are no such unpleasant incidents”, the Prime Minister said in a tweet.

His tweet comes a day after he had snapped back, asking who Mr Khan is, when asked by reporters about the violent protests by right-wing activists against the film. “Who is Shah Rukh Khan? I don’t know anything about him or the movie ‘Pathaan’,” Mr Sarma had said in Guwahati yesterday.

When told that Khan is a Bollywood superstar, he had said that people in the state should worry about Assamese films and not Bollywood.

The statements were in response to questions about some activists tearing down posters of the film at a Guwahati theater that is set to screen the film.

Mr. Sarma had also said that he did not receive any call from Mr. Khan and would look into the matter if the actor urged him. He had also assured that he would take action if any protester had violated the law.

Mr Khan’s ‘Pathaan’, slated to release on January 25, is facing protests over the song ‘Besharam Rang’ which shows his co-star Deepika Padukone in a saffron bikini. Several leaders, including the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad, called for the film to be banned.