'Pathaan' Song Row Plays Out at Kolkata Int'l Film Festival, Amitabh Bachchan's Comment Kicks Off BJP vs TMC

While inaugurating the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan said that even now, questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression. The veteran actor’s comment sparked a political row and ensued a war of words between Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

BJP’s Amit Malviya was the first one to react. The leader took to Twitter and wrote:  “Amitabh Bachchan’s words couldn’t have been more prophetic since they were spoken in Kolkata, with Mamata Banerjee on the dais. It is like holding a mirror to the tyrant, under whose watch India witnessed the bloodiest post poll violence. She has tarnished the image of Bengal…”

“Duh”, said Trinamool’s Mahua Moitra, reacting to Malviya’s comment.

In a Twitter post, Moitra said: “Wish BJP would hire a Troll In Chief with IQ >single digits. Bachhan ji is Bengal’s “jamai” – he knows the soil of his 2nd home is the land of the free & home of the brave. He chose KIFF’s platform to denounce BJP’s boycotts & bans in the arts. Duh….”

Malviya also attacked Mamata Banerjee, saying she always belittles successful Bengalis. In another post, he wrote: “Mamata Banerjee didn’t invite superstar Mithun Chakraborty, son of Bengal, for the Kolkata Film Festival. She had similarly appointed Shahrukh as brand ambassador of Bengal and not Saurav, one of the finest cricketers Bengal has seen.”

Malviya later tweeted a clip from the event, where the audience requested vocalist Arijit Singh to sing a song for them. Singh kept the request and sang “Rang De Tu Mohe Geura”. Malviya, however, took this opportunity to attack the government. He wrote: “At the Kolkata Film Festival, Mamata Banerjee asked Arijit Singh to sing one of his favourites and he chose रंग दे तू मोहे गेरुआ… It was an evening of realisations. From Mr Bachchan to Arijit, who reminded Mamata Banerjee, in her backyard, that the future of Bengal is saffron…”

SRK Reacts to Row

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is in the eye of the storm over a song  “Besharam Rang” from his new movie “Pathaan”, was also a part of the event.

Speaking at the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), Khan addressed the ongoing negativity on social media amid protests against his upcoming film. Talking about the importance of cinema, he said it is the most important medium of modern times.

“Cinema and the advent of articulation through social media platforms have now become the foremost expression of human experience and emotion. The collective narrative of time is shaped by social media and contrary to the belief that the spread of social media will affect cinema negatively, I believe cinema has an even more important role to play now. Social media is often driven by a certain narrowness of view that limits human nature.”

SRK continued, “Cinema exposes the vulnerability of human nature by telling the stories in the simplest form as they are lived. It allows us to know each other better in a way it is best placed to sustain a collective counter-narrative that speaks to the larger nature of humankind. A narrative that brings to forth humanity’s immense capacity for compassion, unity and brotherhood.”

Besharam Rang has been composed by Vishal-Sheykhar with lyrics by Kumaar and stars Padukone and Khan. Helmed by Siddharth Anand, Pathaan is scheduled to hit theatres on January 25, 2023.