Veteran actor Om Puri, who made a controversial statement on army jawans on a TV channel, has irked his Bollywood colleagues, social media commenters and politicians alike.
Veteran actor Om Puri, who made a controversial statement on army jawans on a TV channel, has irked his Bollywood colleagues, social media commenters and politicians alike. The Andheri police station has received a complaint against the actor.
While commenting on soldiers, the actor had said, “We haven’t forced them to join the army.”
The complainant, Andheri resident Prithvi Mhaske, said, “The statements made by Puri are against the nation. It’s insulting the soldiers and, hence, I went ahead and registered a complaint against him at the police station and asked that he be booked for sedition.”
Mr Mhaske claimed that police officers at the station told him they would consult with their seniors and only then, if needed, a complaint would be registered.
Actor Anupam Kher, while stating that he has lot of respect for Mr Puri, said he was deeply hurt by his statements. Mr Kher took to micro-blogging site Twitter where he tweeted, “Dear Ompuriji, I respect you a lot, but after listening to what your views were on soldier, I am deeply hurt. (sic)”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a gone one step further by criticising the actor. Niranjan Shetty, chief spokesperson of BJP, said that after making such an ‘insensitive statement’, Mr Puri had better leave for Pakistan.
“We are aware that they have films featuring Pakistan actors and also many other interests, but at such time, there is a need to stand as one,” said Mr Shetty.
Meanwhile, in a late development on Tuesday night, Mr Puri apologised for his comment, saying, “I am guilty, I am ashamed.”
