Rahul Dholakia's Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees is unable to keep itself away from controversies. The film was under the scanner ever since the Uri attacks by Pakistan took place in October. Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had objected to the film’s release since it also has Pakistani actress Mahira Khan in a leading role.
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The issue was resolved a couple of days earlier when Shah Rukh met Thackeray and promised that he won’t work with Pakistani artists until the situation between both the countries improves. He also assured him that Mahira won’t visit India to promote the film.
Now, the film is embroiled in another controversy. This time, it’s an unexpected one. A group of Shia Muslims are reportedly irked by one of the scenes in the trailers where Shah Rukh is seen jumping from one building to another while a Muharram procession by Shia Muslims is taking place. According to them, it is an insult to jump over the alame, which is considered a religious flag in Islam.
A Shia group has also filed a complaint against the makers at Mayur Vihar Phase I police station in New Delhi. The complainant, Jeshaan Haider, has warned of dire consequences if the scene isn’t removed and an apology not rendered.
He said to a daily, “The actor and the whole team should apologise for it and we want the scene to be removed. Such a scene that hurts the religious sentiments of the Shia community can neither be shown nor considered for entertainment. If the scene is not deleted, we will organise a protest throughout India. We will move court and file a petition in this regard.”
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Shia cleric from Lucknow, Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi was also quoted saying, “I never watch movies, but when I saw this particular stunt in the movie’s trailer, I was shocked. This is wrong. Mr Khan should know that such religious rituals are followed by Shias to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.”
The makers of Raees have so far not reacted to the controversy, but they have deleted the ‘objectionable’ sequence from the trailer in YouTube. However, the uncut trailer is still visible on the film’s Facebook page.
This is the second time that the makers have easily given into pressure after the Thackeray incident.