Pathaan: 30 activists in Belagavi booked by police for stalling film's screening

Shah Rukh Khan's comeback film Pathaan has been receiving lots of love from the audience as the film begins its theatrical journey today (January 25th). The King Khan, ably supported by co-actors Deepika Padukone and John Abraham and director Siddharth Anand's grand vision, is in the pursuit of redefining the box office standards through Pathaan and by the looks of it, the film boasts every potential to do so. Pathaan is running to packed cinema halls across the country.

However, the film's journey thus far has not been an easy one as controversies and boycotting threats have flanked it all along. From the 'saffron bikini' backlash to relentless threats to boycott the film or ambush its promising theatrical run, the makers of Pathaan have had to ward off numerous inconveniences over the past couple of months. And one such incident occurred on the eve of the film's release in Karnataka's Belagavi where a large group of Hindu activists, reportedly, stormed into cinema halls in an attempt to stall the film's release. 

As reported by IANS and other reports, a group of 30 Hindu activists barged into the Swaroop Narthaki talkies in Belagavi on the night of 24th January. The group would tear down posters of Pathaan, blacken out some of the images and even tell the patrons to not watch the film, condemning its release. The theatre owner is said to have called the police who reached the premises soon after and chased the activists away.

The security around the cinema hall, reportedly, has been tightened and the Khadebazar police of Belagavi have filed a case against the 30 activists involved. They have also detained a few of them and in addition, the commissioner has stationed a KSRP van outside the theatre to ensure peaceful proceedings.

Belagavi South constituency BJP MLA Abhay Patil is quoted as saying in reports, "They should understand the feelings of the people and stop the screening of the film. Release of such movies will spoil the atmosphere in society. The protest has begun today. Women are opposing the release of the movie, the distributor must stop shows."