Nanak Shah Fakir movie row: Central body of Sikhs ask community to boycott film

Even as Punjabi film Nanak Shah Fakir releases across the country on April 17, the central body of Mumbai Sikhs have appealed to the community to boycott it in the city.

Even as Punjabi film Nanak Shah Fakir releases across the country on April 17, the central body of Mumbai Sikhs have appealed to the community to boycott it in the city.

The Sri Guru Singh Sabha, at its Baisakhi celebrations that was attended by thousands of Sikhs this week, asked the community to boycott the film, which has reportedly depicted Guru Nanak in human form, considered against the tenets of Sikhism.

The community has been reiterating the message through various Gurdwaras in Mumbai.

The appeal comes close on the heels of a letter written by the Dadar-based Sabha to the Central Board of Film Certification’s chairman, Pahlaj Nihalani, demanding that the film not be released “under any circumstances”.

“The Sikh community is agitated and disturbed. The situation will be aggravated if the producer goes ahead with his adamant blasphemy and the censor board does not take appropriate action to stop the release of the film,” the letter said.

Singh said while no organised protest has been planned for Friday outside the theatres screening it, the community has been conveyed the same through the Gurdwaras not to watch it. “But there could be independent agitations outside the theatres as the community is displeased,” said another member of the Sabha, who did not wish to be named.

The film is set to be released in all major multiplexes across Mumbai and some single-screen theatres.

Filmmaker Harinder Sikka has been quoted as saying that Guru Nanak has been portrayed through computer graphics and that too from the back — a claim that the Sabha rejected, saying the trailers show otherwise.