A film rumoured to be about Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath, mob lynching and Hindu terrorism was shelved after it’s poster created a furore on social media and BJP leaders filed an FIR against the filmmaker.
According to DNA, the film – titled Zila Gorakhpuri – would have charted the rise of a saffron monk from the Gorakhpur peeth to the chief minister’s office. Adityanath is the head priest of the Gorakhnath Math.
The poster shows a Hindu monk holding a gun. Credit: Nostrum Entertainment
The film’s poster, released by director Vinod Tiwari on Sunday, shows a saffron clad Hindu monk with his back to the camera, holding a gun. A cow and the Gorakhnath temple are also visible in the poster. DNA said that the movie would have dealt with saffron terror and instances of mob lynching.
After the poster went viral on social media, senior BJP leader I.P. Singh accused the director of distorting the image of Adityanath. He also filed an FIR against director Vinod Tiwari at Vibhuti Khand Police Station in Gomtinagar on Sunday night.
In a tweet, he said, “Vinod ji, we will not allow this film to be released. It was an attempt to foment communal trouble and divide people to earn quick money and cheap publicity. We also demand to probe who was funding the film director to produce this controversial film.”
यह ना सिर्फ मान @myogiadityanath जी की छवि को खंडित करने का बल्कि पूरी हिन्दू सभ्यता, नाथ-सम्प्रदाय को कलंकित करने का भी प्रयास है, मैं निर्माताओं को खुली चुनौती देता हूँ कि अगर हिम्मत है तो यह फिल्म रिलीज़ कर के दिखाएं, सस्ती लोकप्रियता के लिए ऐसी नीचता बर्दाश्त नहीं की जाएगी। pic.twitter.com/CVf1oi9VcS
— IP Singh (@ipsinghbjp) July 29, 2018
विनोद जी यह फ़िल्म तो रिलीज़ नहीं होने दी जाएगी, चंद पैसों के लिए अजेंडा चलाते चलाते फ़िल्म निर्माता लिमिट क्रॉस कर जान बूझ कर समाज में उपद्रव फैलाने और लोगों का बाँटने का काम कर रहे हैं, इस फ़िल्म के निर्माताओं को फ़ंडिंग कहाँ से मिली इसकी जाँच करायी जाए। https://t.co/gtpsTA5koR
— IP Singh (@ipsinghbjp) July 29, 2018
Singh also objected to the usage of works like “Hindu terrorism” and “mob lynching”.
After the backlash, Tiwari announced on Sunday night that he was dropping the idea. “After seeing reactions on the social media over poster released, I have decided to drop my new film ‘Zila Gorakhpur’. The decision to close the project was taken in public and national interest. I had no intentions to hurt public sentiments. The film was unnecessarily dragged into the controversy which was uncalled for as there was nothing controversial in the proposed film,” he said.