Pathaan: After his ‘who is SRK?’ remark, Assam CM gets a call from the actor

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma caused quite a stir on the internet after a video of him speaking at a press conference surfaced yesterday. While responding to a question asked by a journalist about the violence that erupted at a movie theatre in Guwahati, where Pathaan is scheduled to be screened, he said, “Who is Shah Rukh Khan? I don’t know anything about him or his film Pathaan. I do not have time for all this.” A while ago, Himanta tweeted saying that the Bollywood actor called him last night, and that he has assured the Assam government will do its best to maintain law and order.

After saying that no one complained to him about posters of the film Pathaan being torn in the city, on Sunday morning, the chief minister tweeted, “Bollywood actor Shri @iamsrk called me and we talked today morning at 2 am. He expressed concern about an incident in Guwahati during screening of his film. I assured him that it’s duty of state govt to maintain law & order. We’ll enquire and ensure no such untoward incidents.”

On Friday, a group of people in the city’s Narengi area created a ruckus on the premises of a movie theatre, where Pathaan is slated to be screened. They tore posters and threatened dire consequences if the movie was screened at the venue.

“No police complaint has been filed; no hall owner has called me to complain. However, if someone has broken the law or taken the law in their own hands, we will deal with them,” Himanta said on Saturday, adding, “Khan has not called me. Although many from Bollywood do so, regarding the problem. But if he does, I will look into the matter. The people of the state should be more concerned about Assamese films and not Hindi movies. The Assamese film Dr Bezbarua 2 will be released soon. People should watch it.”

Directed by Siddharth Anand, Pathaan is SRK’s major comeback film. The film also stars Deepika Padukone, Salman Khan, John Abraham, Ashutosh Rana and Dimple Kapadia. The song Besharam Rang, which was released in December 2022, has already run into several controversies.