SGPC writes to Modi for ban on movie as producer adamant
AMRITSAR:AS Harinder Sikka, producer of controversial movie “Nanak Shah Fakir” failed to appear before the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) panel, the apex gurdwara body on Saturday urged the Union and state governments to ban the screening of the movie, set to be rereleased on April 13.
The SGPC on Thursday constituted a sub-committee to review the movie over objections to depiction of the first Sikh guru and asked Sikka to appear before it on Saturday. But Sikka said he will not be able to attend, and added that he now would not be able to hold back the release.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister of information and broadcasting Smriti Irani and Punjab chief minister Captain
Amarinder Singh, SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal sought a ban on the movie keeping in view Sikh sentiments. “If the movie is released, it may lead to law and order problem. So, this movie should be stopped from being released,” read the letter.
The Punjab government had banned the screening of the movie when it w first released in April 2015. The row has been escalating since then as the SGPC had first approved the movie and also directed its institutions to facilitate its promotion ahead of its re-release. But it backtracked after some organisations raised objections over the movie.
Sikhism prohibits bodily depiction of the gurus, though movie makers have underlined that the figure shown in the movie — as evident in the trailer — has not been given a human form beyond an outline created using special effects. The SGPC had constituted two committees earlier and then the latest one after sections of Sikh circles raised objections over clearance granted in 2016. Some organisations, primarily the hardliners, objected after letters issued by SGPC authorities to gurdwara managers and educational institutes to screen it on their campuses went viral on social media.