Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's new film Pathaan under Hindu nationalist fire; 'a contaminated mentality'
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.
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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".
Such sentiments are not uncommon, with Bollywood regularly at the receiving end of an orchestrated online campaign to boycott films of actors it perceives to be anti-Hindu, including Aamir Khan, the Muslim star of Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar, who starred in Raksha Bandhan.
Ranbir Kapoor's Brahmāstra, Vijay Deverakonda's Liger and Ajay Devgn's Thank God have also faced "Boycott Bollywood" calls in recent months.
Film insiders say such demands create an environment of "unease, fear and uncertainty" which does not augur well for the world's most prolific movie industry, particularly when it is trying to regain its mojo after Covid-19.
It releases more than 1,000 films per year, more than double its American counterpart, Hollywood, and employs around a million people.
Social media plays a role in anti-film protests too, with a lot of trolling taking place. At a Kolkata film festival last month Shah Rukh Khan expressed concern about the online world, noting that "cinema has an even more important role to play now".
He said social media is "driven" by "narrowness of views" and added, "I read somewhere that negativity increases social media consumption and thereby increases its commercial value as well. Such pursuits enclose the collective narrative, making it divisive and destructive."
However, many feel the backlash against Pathaan will not dent Khan's popularity nor the film's prospects due to his enduring star appeal. "Advance bookings for Pathaan are breaking all records," said film distributor Suresh Kapadia of VFX Media.
"We're expecting record footfalls at theatres as the audience are keen to see Khan on the big screen after four years."
Delhi-based Rahul Sinha has "already bought tickets for Pathaan for my family. I'll be watching it, first day, first show, as Khan has been my favourite actor for over 30 years".
According to Pinkvilla, an Indian entertainment platform, Pathaan is seeing a phenomenal response in terms of advance bookings in many countries, including the US, the UAE, Germany and Australia. In the UAE at least 3,500 tickets have been sold for the opening day alone, while in Germany around 8,500 tickets have been snapped up for day one.
Much of this effusiveness has to do with Khan's universal appeal, say film insiders. Known as the "King Of Bollywood", Khan has also been named the richest actor in Asia by global analytics firm World Of Statistics.
It said he has a net worth of US$770 million which makes him the world's fourth richest actor, ahead of Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan and George Clooney.
The owner of various luxurious properties in various countries, Khan has multiple sources of income from the likes of brand endorsements, production houses and other businesses.
He also has a string of national awards under his belt including the Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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