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What's in gerua? Smriti Irani, Arijit Singh dragged in Trinamool versus BJP war
After Amit Malviya said Arijit Singh's ‘Rang de to mohe gerua’ song in front of Mamata Banerjee is suggestive of the advent of ‘saffron’ in Bengal, Trinamool leader posted the Miss India video of Smriti Irani wearing a saffron bikini.
The saffron controversy started with the gerua bikini of Deepika Padukone in the ‘Behsaram Rang’ song of Shah Rukh Khan's movie named Pathaan, which is facing a boycott call ahead of its release in January 2023. Now the controversy has dragged Bollywood singer Arijit Singh, Union minister Smriti Irani too in a strange way as Trinamool and BJP leaders are at loggerheads after Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan made some comments around film censorship, social media etc in Kolkata at the inauguration of the Kolkata International Film Festival. Read | Mahua Moitra's 'duh' to Amit Malviya over what Amitabh Bachchan said in Kolkata
Here's what happened
BJP's Amit Malviya shared a video and claimed that Arijit Singh sang 'Rang de tu mohe gerua' at the ceremony in front of Mamata Banerjee. "At the Kolkata Film Festival, Mamata Banerjee asked Arijit Singh to sing one of his favourites and he chose रंग दे तू मोहे गेरुआ… It was an evening of realisations. From Mr Bachchan to Arijit, who reminded Mamata Banerjee, in her backyard, that the future of Bengal is saffron…"
The video was clipped as it omitted the Bengali songs that Arijit Singh sang before singing 'Gerua'.
To this 'gerua' jibe, Trinamool's Riju Dutta posted an old video of Smriti Irani's Miss India 1998 contest where Smriti Irani can be seen walking in the bikini round wearing a saffron bikini.
This, in turn, drew the wrath of the West Bengal BJP leaders. Actor-turned-BJP MP slammed Riju Dutta for his 'misogynist' take and wrote: "Shame on Mamata Banerjee for appointing such misogynist men as TMC’s national spokesperson. He has no respect for women and the choices they make in life. They resent successful women and their rise. Men like him are responsible for rising crime against women."
'TMC has no problem with Smriti Irani's bikini'
"Is saffron colour BJP's private property? Who gives them authority over it? If they're abusing women like Deepika Padukone for wearing clothes of her choice in saffron colour, then they should also see that their union minister wore a saffron-coloured bikini in 1998," Riju Dutta said.
"TMC has no problem with what Smriti Irani chooses to wear, it's her right. But we oppose BJP's moral policing and selective outrage against certain people. I have just shown the mirror to them," the TMC leader said.
Amit Malviya busy accusing aothers: Trinamool's Nusrat Jahan
The BJP versus Trinamool began after Amitabh Bachchan's speech at the Kolkata International Film Festival in which Big B said even now there are questions being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression.
Soon after Big B's speech, Amit Malviya said the words were against Mamata Banerjee's 'tyrannical rule' in West Bengal. "Amitabh Bachchan’s words couldn’t have been more prophetic since they were spoken in Kolkata, with Mamata Banerjee on the dais. It is like holding a mirror to the tyrant, under whose watch India witnessed the bloodiest post poll violence," Malviya wrote.
The Twitter back and forth started, with Trinamool MP and actor Nusrat Jahan explaining to Malviya what Amitabh Bachchan meant.
"The signs of a TYRINNICAL RULE include banning movies, detaining journalists, and punishing common people for speaking the truth. CAPPING Freedom of Speech and Expression means just that. All this under the BJP regime while Mr @amitmalviya is busy accusing others of the same," Nusrat Jahan wrote.
"Mr. Bachchan’s words were about the current situation in our country under Modi & Shah. He could express them freely in Bengal in presence of the tigress @MamataOfficial & not in Delhi or Mumbai. But well - a fake news coolie like you doesn’t have the IQ to comprehend that," Trinamool Saket Gokhale tweeted.
