Tamil and Telugu actor Siddharth wrote, "Poetic justice is when a Muslim actor from UP gets to play the part of the revered Marathi bigot in a propaganda film."
The Marathi theatrical trailer of Nawazuddin Siddiqui's 'Thackeray', the bilingual biopic on Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, has kicked up a storm on internet. Hours after its release, Telugu and Tamil actor Siddharth slammed Nawaaz's dialogues referencing South Indians in a derogatory matter.
“Nawazuddin has repeated 'Uthao lungi bajao pungi' (lift the lungi and *'#$ him) in the film #Thackeray. Clearly hate speech against South Indians... In a film glorifying the person who said it! Are you planning to make money out of this propaganda? Stop selling hate! Scary stuff!” - tweeted Siddharth.
A young Bal Thackeray, played by actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is initially seen walking through bustling areas of erstwhile Bombay with Tamil, Malayalam and English signboards on the streets, with men busy at work. As he walks around, he accidentally bumps into a man, presumed to be a Malayalee, who yells, “What, dog? Can’t you see? (Endaada patti? Dhiktha nahi hai?)”
Moments later, we see an angry Bal Thackeray addressing a meeting at Amar Hind Mandal, where the leader was known to meet party activists in the early days.
“[How] these salé ‘andu gundu’ South Indians come together! How they [help] make each other big in life! They bring people from their hometowns even to wash the dishes at [their street side] idli carts. But not anymore. Now “uthao lungi, bajao pungi!” he says in what is supposed to be a rousing speech.
Later, a scene in the trailer shows a man throwing a stone at a Udupi Hotel after being “inspired” by Thackeray’s words.
Siddharth pointed out how the anti-South Indian diatribe was exclusively kept to the Marathi version of the Thackeray trailer (without subtitles) and not shown in the Hindi trailer.
"The conveniently un-subtitled #Marathi trailer of #Thackeray. So much hate sold with such romance and heroism (Music, tiger roars, applause, jingoism). No solidarity shown to millions of South Indians and immigrants who make #Mumbai great. #HappyElections!"
Making a reference to Bal Thackeray's anti-migrant politics, Sidharth added, Poetic justice is when a Muslim actor from UP gets to play the part of the revered Marathi bigot in a propaganda film.”
While these shots from the trailer have evoked outrage online, the Central Board of Film Certification too has raised objections. The film certification body has reportedly sought the deletion of the controversial lines mentioned above, along with references to the demolition of Babri Masjid.
However, the writer and co-producer of the film, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, has refused to make any changes.
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