A BJP leader on Tuesday filed a police complaint against Anurag Kashyap, alleging he has hurt sentiments of Sikhs through his web series Sacred Games season 2.
BJP legislator Manjinder Singh Sirsa also accused Mr Kashyap of “disrespecting” Sikh and Hindu sentiments through portrayals in the web series directed by him.
No reaction was available from Mr Kashyap over the issue.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinderpal Singh Bagga said he filed a complaint against Mr Kashyap at Parliament Street police station for “insulting” Sikh sentiments, NDTV reported.
“I filed a complaint at Parliament Street police station against Sacred Games director Anurag Kashayp for disrespecting Sikh Kakaars. In a scene of Sacred Games, a Sikh character played by Saif Ali Khan threw his Kara which is one of the Kakaars revered by the Sikhs,” Mr Bagga said.
The ‘Kakaars’ are religious symbols comprising Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (comb), Kara (metal bangle), Kachera (cotton loincloth) and Kirpan (iron dagger), adopted by the Sikhs.
Mr Sirsa said he had complained to the Information and Broadcasting minister against Mr Kashyap demanding “strict action against him”.
“We cannot let Bollywood stars play with our religious faiths and sentiments. I warn Anurag Kashyap; he should at least study the scriptures of Sikhs and Hindus before he portrays the characters so negatively in his projects just for entertainment or sensationalisation (sic),” Mr Sirsa said in a statement.
Mr Sirsa, who is an MLA from Rajouri Garden and also head of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC), said that he will also explore options for initiating legal actions against Mr Kashyap.
The first season of Sacred Games had also led to controversy for derogatory portrayal of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, hindustantimes reported.
His son Rahul Gandhi, however, had defended the show’s freedom of speech. “My father lived and died in the service of India. The views of a character on a fictional web series can never change that,” he had tweeted.
Sacred Games 2 started streaming on Independence Day. The much awaited show stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi and Kalki Koechlin, besides Saif. Directed by Kashyap and Neeraj Ghaywan, it has Vikramaditya Motwane as the showrunner.