'Questions being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression': Amitabh Bachchan speaks amid SRK's Pathaan row

It is not every day that you will see Amitabh Bachchan attending an event. Therefore, 15 December was one of those rare days when the legendary star, who mostly attends press conferences virtually, graced the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF 2022). Big B, who was one of the chief guests at the 28th KIFF, marked his attendance along with wife and veteran actress Jaya Bachchan and even addressed the audience. Now, at a time when almost every Bollywood film fears the boycott culture hovering upon social media, Amitabh Bachchan believed it to be the right opportunity to make a rather strong point about questions being raised on civil liberties and freedom of speech. Not only this but the Uunchai actor even talked about censorship. A video of a part of his address was shared by the news agency ANI on its official Twitter account.

In the viral video, Amitabh Bachchan can be heard saying, “The 1952 Cinematograph Act set out the structure of censorship as it stands today, upheld by the film certification board (Central Board of Film Certification). But even now, ladies and gentlemen–and I am sure my colleagues on stage will agree–questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression.” While sharing the video, ANI wrote in the caption, “‘Even now, questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression’: Amitabh Bachchan at the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival”.

#WATCH | “Even now, questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression”: Amitabh Bachchan at the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival pic.twitter.com/ycBY5LhRP2

— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2022

Amitabh Bachchan’s statement comes at a time when Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming much-anticipated film Pathaan has become the newest target of the “boycott club.” This is because Pathaan’s very first song Besharam Rang has stirred up a hornet’s nest after its leading lady Deepika Padukone featured in the video wearing a saffron bikini. Witnessing the same, Madhya Pradesh Minister Narottam Mishra has called the song objectionable and even threatened the release of the movie in his state. Bollywood actress Sherlyn Chopra is the newest member to jump on the bandwagon and agreed with the MP Minister.

Therefore, SRK also sent a veiled message to social media trolls targeting his upcoming film Pathaan on Twitter. While concluding his speech at KIFF 2022, the Badshah Of Bollywood reportedly said, “The world has become normal. We are all happy, I am the happiest. And I have no objection in stating that duniya kuch bhi kar le, main aur aap log aur jitney bhi positive log hain sab ke sab, zinda hain (me, you all, and all the positive people are alive).” It must be noted that the last two words in his address “Zinda Hain” were delivered in the style of his character from Pathaan, resulting in the crowd bursting into clapping and cheering for the superstar.

Main aur aap log aur jitne bhi positive log hai sab ke sab ZINDA hai