Amitabh Bachchan slams reports ‘twisting’ his words, portraying his post as challenge to enemies; issues strict warning

Amitabh Bachchan criticised reports that portrayed his reference to elephants, horses and a palanquin as a challenge to his opponents.

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan hit back at media reports for allegedly misinterpreting his recent social media post and portraying it as a challenge to his opponents. The actor clarified that his reference to elephants, horses and a palanquin in an earlier post was part of a devotional chant dedicated to Lord Krishna, rather than a message directed at his critics.

Amitabh Bachchan slams reports claiming he challenged his enemies.

Amitabh Bachchan slams media reports

On October 29, Big B had shared pictures and videos from his Sunday darshan and written in Hindi, "Now watch how they turn this into a headline!!!! Don't try to scare us, my friend. If you stop writing about us, that's no problem. We have our own newspaper running here now. You do one, and we'll do a hundred!!!! Go on! Bring your elephants and horses... We'll bring ours too – Haathi ghoda palki, Jai Kanhaiya Lal ki! (an elephant, a horse and a palanquin, glory to Lord Krishna!) ...!!!!"

On November 2, Big B took to his blog to criticise media reports for 'twisting his words' and portraying his earlier post as an 'open challenge' to his enemies. He wrote in Hindi, "In praise of Lord Krishna, people often chant the following prayer: 'Hathi ghoda palki, Jai Kanhaiya Lal ki (An elephant, a horse and a palanquin – glory to Lord Krishna!)' But the media has disrespected this devotional chant and, to promote itself, published headlines suggesting: 'Look, Amitabh is challenging his opponents, saying, 'Bring your elephants and horses; we will fight with our weapons and will not be afraid!'"

He called it a "gross insult" to a chant celebrating Jai Shri Krishna and added, "second, a deliberate twisting of words to make it seem as though I am challenging my opponents. Listen carefully, members of the media! We have a following of 50 million people. The day I give the signal, even just 10 per cent of them will be ready to take action. Our EF has the capacity to do a hundred times more than the criticism you direct at us by twisting our words. They are only waiting for me to give the word."

Big B then shared the headline of a Hindi news report, which translates to, "Amitabh Bachchan takes a dig at opponents over their threats, vents his anger through a cryptic post – 'Go on, bring your elephants and horses'."

He further called the reports an insult to religion and wrote, "Have you seen this? An insult to religion, and...- Betuka – Absurd, nonsensical or silly, Hasyaspad – Ridiculous or laughable (invoking derision) and Asangat – Inconsistent or illogical. These are the people who are considered the country's fifth column. The other four columns are regarded with respect and honour in our traditions. The fifth is called so because its members are given respect and a place of honour in society by the people of the country!"

The actor concluded, “Respect??? Nothing could be more ridiculous... If we make a mistake – and mistakes do happen – we immediately apologise and try to correct it. But here, it seems they believe that being this way is their birthright...I was about to speak about the affection and love of a person who is in pain before going to sleep. But I will not call myself a victim. The right to speak about my pain belongs to me alone. It is not something meant for you, the media.”

All about the security threat

A bomb threat email allegedly targeting veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow in Mumbai was reported to the Mumbai Police last week. The threatening email was received by a school in Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) area. The police have launched an investigation into the matter.

Following the threat, the actor was seen standing inside a transparent protective glass enclosure as he stepped out of his residence to greet fans during his Sunday darshan. He was accompanied by his son, Abhishek Bachchan, who stood behind him and kept a watchful eye on the crowd.