Eyebrows were raised when Katrina, clad in the knee-length skirt, entered the tomb along with actor Rishi Kapoor on Monday and offered a chadar at the Sufi saint's dargah for a scene in the film.
AJMER: The filming of a sequence for Namaste London, which featured actress Katrina Kaif wearing a short dress, inside Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's dargah has created uproar among khadims (servers) and the shrine administration.
Eyebrows were raised when Katrina, clad in the knee-length skirt, entered the tomb along with actor Rishi Kapoor on Monday and offered a chadar at the Sufi saint's dargah for a scene in the film.
In keeping with Islamic traditions, women wearing skimpy outfits are not allowed into the shrine, and dargah officials and the Muslim community have taken exception to Katrina's attire.
Dargah Committee vice-president Sayed B Chisti said it was the duty of office-bearers of the Anjuman Committee that is accompanying the Bollywood team to ensure the maintenance of the sanctity of the shrine.
The Dargah Committee will write a letter of protest to the Anjuman Committee and seek an explanation, Chisti said.
The film's director Vipul Shah said, "There was no intention of hurting anyone's sentiments or religious feelings. If people want, we will have another shoot for the film with Katrina wearing a proper dress."
Noting that Katrina's attire was in keeping with her role as a London-based NRI, Shah said, "We are even ready to drop the scene from the film."
He said the shooting was done with the full knowledge of the dargah's authorities. "Nobody objected to it. It was only about half an hour after the shoot was over that this issue was raised," Shah said.
The khadim who took the stars around the dargah and performed their 'ziyarat' for the shoot said the matter was being blown out of proportion as Katrina was covered below the knee. "In no way was it obscene and it did not violate the sanctity of the shrine," he said.
The Dargah Committe gave permission to the crew of Namaste London to shoot pilgrims coming for ziyaarat and to film some important scenes.
Kapoor plays the role of a man living in London who takes his daughter (played by Katrina) to important religious places in India, including the dargah in Ajmer.
Eighty per cent of the movie was shot in London while the rest will be filmed in India. The film's cast includes artistes from Pakistan and Britain.
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