Case lodged against ‘pk’ actor Aamir Khan, director Raju Hirani and producer in Rajasthan
The film, which was released on December 19, takes a swipe at organised religion and godmen
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-01-02 15:45 GMT
Jaipur: A case has been registered against the director, producer, and actor of the film 'PK' at the Bajaj Nagar police station in Jaipur, police said today. A case under section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) of the IPC was lodged last evening against director, producer and actor of the film, SHO Bajaj Nagar Chiranji Lal said today.
The three were not named in the FIR, he said. PK has been directed by Rajkumar Hirani, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and stars Aamir Khan among others. The complaint in this connection was lodged by one Basant Gehlot, Lal said, adding that the matter is under investigation.
The Aamir Khan-starrer film has invited sharp reactions and protest from right-wing Hindu outfits who have demanded ban on the screening of the film, alleging that it hurts the religious sentiments. In fact, on Thursday, the movie was announced to be exempted from tax in Bihar by Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi so the poor could watch the film that exposes the fraud taking place in the name of religion as advised by Nitish Kumar who said that the movie deserved 'full 10 marks because it is giving a positive message to the society".
"Our leader Nitish Kumar advised us to exempt 'PK' from tax. We have decided to make it tax free to ensure that the poorest of the poor can watch the film that exposes the superstition and fraud taking place in the name of religion," Manjhi told the media at his official residence.
As protests continue across the country (recently, members of a minority community today blocked the Delhi highway and pelted stones on policemen in protest against a morphed poster of the Aamir Khan-starrer 'PK' on 31 December in Jaipur), Bihar has become the second state after neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to take this step, ignoring continued protests by right-wing Hindu organisations that claim the movie hurt religious sentiments of Hindus.
Dharmendra Gola, Madan Sharma, Avinash Rana and other activists questioned the logic behind giving the film tax exemption in Uttar Pradesh. They criticised Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for insulting the sentiments of the Hindus by making the film tax free in the state. Bajrang Dal leader Premendra Jain said tax exemption to "PK" should be immediately withdrawn.
Leaders of the Samajwadi Party and social activists have welcomed the tax exemption to "PK". Subhash Jain, former corporator, Usha Jain and other SP activists said it was a bold move and the message of the film would get across loud and clear.
The film, which was released on December 19, takes a swipe at organised religion and godmen. Aamir Khan has trashed accusations of him having "insulted" the Hindu religion because he was a Muslim, saying, "We respect all religions. All my Hindu friends have seen the film and they have not felt the same".
Clarifications from Hirani and Aamir Khan have, however, cut no ice with the agitators.