‘How dare you!’ Farhan Akhtar jumps into Mersal row over BJP leader’s ‘low IQ’ jibe

Farhan Akhtar has slammed a BJP spokesperson for his derogatory remarks against film stars.

New Delhi, Oct 23: The recently-released Tamil film, Mersal, has been hogging the limelight after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders protested over dialogues in the movie where the lead actor Vijay criticised Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Digital India initiatives.

The saffron party demanded the removal of those scenes from the film critical of the Narendra Modi government.

Several actors including Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth have expressed their support for the controversial movie. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi government over its demands to remove dialogues from Mersal.

Till now, Bollywood has remained silent over the controversy that erupted last week. Now, a prominent voice from the Hindi film industry, Farhan Akhtar, an actor and a director, has jumped into the controversy over a derogatory remark against film stars made by a BJP spokesperson in the context of Mersal.

BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao, criticising Mersal and its makers in a TV interview, said: "In any case, most of our film stars have very low IQ, very low general knowledge."

Taking offence over the remark of Rao, Farhan on Sunday tweeted, "How dare you, sir?" "And to all film people in his ranks... Here's what he thinks of you. Shame sir," an angry Farhan wrote and tagged the BJP leader.

In Mersal, popular actor Vijay in seen in three roles that of a village head, a doctor and a magician. The film has been directed by Atlee.

As a part of the BJP's attack against Mersal and its lead actor, a saffron party leader from Tamil Nadu also alleged that Vijay being a Christian criticised the Modi government in the film.

Looking at how so many popular personalities, including celebrities and politicians, have joined the row over Mersal, which has been running successfully in theatres across several states, the controversy over the film is unlikely to die down soon.

OneIndia