There was high drama at a multiplex in Goregaon on Tuesday night after a young, small-time film screenplay writer did not stand up for the national anthem before screening of the film.
There was high drama at a multiplex in Goregaon on Tuesday night after a young, small-time film screenplay writer did not stand up for the national anthem before screening of the film.
Earlier, in the same way, a family had refused to get up during the national anthem in a multiplex in eastern suburban. Thereafter, other citizens who were present in the cinema hall had created a ruckus till the family had to leave the theatre.
The latest incident took place at around 8.15 pm on Tuesday at a mall in Goregaon (east). Neeraj Pandey, a screenwriter by profession, had gone there along with two of his friends to watch Wazir, a recently released film starring megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
When the audience rose while the national anthem was played before the film, Mr Pandey did not stand up out of choice. This was taken very seriously by the local audience and led to heated argument between Mr Pandey and the audience, which accused him of lacking patriotism. Later, the police was called to handle the situation. However, Mr Pandey had to leave the show and was provided tickets of the next show, informed police sources.
The incident came to light when Mr Pandey’s friend, Ankur Pandey, wrote a message on his Facebook wall, questioning “Facebook Patriots of the country who do moral policing”. Mr Ankur in his Facebook post stated that officials treated them properly but their valuable time was wasted in settling the matter in the theatre. Mr Ankur also alleged in the Facebook post that as Mr Pandey is a good looking, tall, Brahmin guy with broad shoulders, the audience felt that he is Pakistani. Several people shared Mr Ankur’s post on Facebook and Twitter and shared their opinions as well.
