Bajrang Dal activists allegedly ransacked the sets of the series and threw ink at its producer-director Jha, accusing him of portraying Hindus in a wrong way.
The Producers Guild of India and Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) on Monday criticized the attack on filmmaker Prakash Jha and his crew while they were shooting for the third season of the series “Ashram” in Bhopal and said that the government should take action on such “ruthless acts of violence”.
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Bajrang Dal activists allegedly ransacked the sets of the series and threw ink at its producer-director Jha, accusing him of portraying Hindus in a wrong way.
The series stars actor Bobby Deol in the lead role as a thug Baba Nirala.
According to the police, the windows of two crew buses were broken in stone pelting, Bajrang Dal threatened that they would not allow the shooting of this web series to go ahead.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the Producers Guild of India said it strongly condemns the “brutal acts of violence, harassment and vandalism” faced by the crew.
“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident and the Guild is concerned to note the frequency with which both the production and exhibition areas are severely and illegally disrupted by various elements.
“Material production contributes significantly to local economies, creating jobs and promoting tourism, which is why authorities in India and around the world have policies to attract producers to their respective regions,” the statement said. make.”
The guild stated that the least that production units should expect – more than incentives and benefits – is for executives to provide a guarantee of safety and security for their units.
“We urge the concerned authorities to take immediate and strict action against the perpetrators of these acts of violence and bring them to justice,” the statement said.
In another press statement, FWICE appealed to the government to take cognizance of the incident and initiate “stern action” against those involved in the vandalism.
“Due to such incidents and ignorance of the same by the concerned authorities the safety and security of our members are at high risk and increasing day by day. We seek justice. FWICE always firmly with the producer/director Stands and will always stand and extend all their necessary support to eradicate such incidents from members of their crew and otherwise peaceful industry,” the statement read.
South Bhopal Superintendent of Police (SP) Sai Krishna Thota told PTI that while the shooting of the web series was going on, some people objected and protested in the name of the web series.
“Bajrang Dal activists objected that the web series has hurt the sentiments of Hindus as it contains obscene scenes,” he said.
The windows of two buses were damaged and one person was injured due to stone pelting, the official said. So far no person has been arrested in this connection.
According to eyewitnesses, Bajrang Dal workers also raised slogans against Jha and Deol, accusing them of hurting Hindu sentiments.
The first and second seasons of the series premiered on MX Player last year.
Filmmakers Hansal Mehta, Sanjay Gupta and others have criticized the vandalism.
“Intimidating silence and constant respect will only lead to such hooligans and such harassment. But who the heck will ring the bell?” Mehta captioned a news feed.
Producer Pritish Nandy tweeted, “There seems to be no end to such attacks. It is time the ministry pulled out these people and reined in these people. They are dodging.”
Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra also shared a news clip of the incident and wrote, “What? It’s horrible. The industry has to get together otherwise… (should I have to tell this). Come on, “Sangh”. Stand by!”
Reacting to the news, Gupta tweeted, “Disgusting!!!”
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