By Nayanika Ruia
Edited by Namrata Caleb
Aamir Khans recent release PK did quite well on the box office until controversies with respect to the movies content started erupting. According to many, this movie has infringed the dignity of Hindu Religion and has hurt the religious sentiments of many Hindus through its content and motive. They believe that multiple scenes in the movie for example Aamir Khan running around God Shiva etc. are offensive not only to them but also is a sign of disrespect towards their respective gods.
When no action regarding the former was taken by the censor board and the government it outraged many people and eventually led to the commencement of protests. People seem to think that their fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India is a good excuse to protest, but they fail to realize the overall objective behind these protests. The objective of protests is to put the word forward to make people aware and not physically harm or injure property and people. In this protest, not only did a group of volunteers from the Bajrang Dal and Hindu Sena stage a protest outside several cinema halls but also vandalized theaters screening this blockbuster PK for making fun of the Hindu Gods and godmen. These volunteers who claimed to be hurt by the movie shouted slogans for banning this movie in all theatres. When no one responded or reacted to the same, they started throwing stones, tore off the movie posters and broke the windows of the ticket booth in certain areas.
Religion has always been, at one point or another, one of the important reasons for many controversies in our country. Today, we as a nation claim to be secular, democratic and republic. With the onset of a modern era, religion should be the least controversial of all. But still, many of us believe in the supremacy of ones own religion over the others. This movie has not only angered the public sentiments but also annoyed the Yoga Guru Ramdev Baba who expressed his strong and affirmative retaliation over this movie for bringing up objectionable statements against Hindu deities. Many FIRs by various Hindu groups were filed against Aamir Khans blockbuster PK. Saffron activists demanded removal of various scenes from the movie which insulted the spiritual gurus. According to them, not only did this movie portray the godmen or the gurus to be villains with respect to Hindu religion but also attacked the very foundation of belief in god by the public. This was no longer concentrated only on religion but also targeted belief and various gurus who claimed to be godmen. While many feared that this was the harsh reality of the world we live in with people coning us in the name of god, others believe that no matter what is true or false; in the name of God and religion everything is fair and just.
Even though today many Hindu activists want to stop the defamation of Hinduism, the public needs to be aware of the ongoing sour reality in our country. This is a highly debatable and controversial scenario where theactor and director of the film claim that they had no intentions of hurting any religious sentiments and that they respect every religion in its very own aspect. The Majority also believes that this move was not an Anti-Hindu film and was just another way of entertainment with nothing against any Hindu community. At the same time, the latter believe that the release of films like these is now a malpractice for the very sole reason of them attacking Hinduism at large.
Nayanika Ruia is a first year learner at Symbiosis Law School, Noida (Batch of 2013-2018). She has done her plus two from DPS Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. She is the member of research and publication cell of the law school. She is the member of Symbiosis Moot Court Society. She did her first internship at HelpAge India (NGO) and the second internship under the Solicitor General of India ( Sr. Adv.Ranjit Kumar) . She has interest in writing articles, stories, poems etc. She haswritten for her school magazines. She also likes debate and public speaking.