Salman Responds After Religious Group Stops ‘Dabangg 3’ Shoot

A religious outfit claims sentiments were hurt as Hindu saints and priests were made to dance for a Dabangg 3 song.

Salman Khan began shooting for his upcoming film Dabangg 3 in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh on 1 April. The actor had also teased his fans with a new glimpse from the film's sets on his Instagram account.

But the film ran into trouble after photographs of a Shivling covered with wooden planks during the shooting of the film surfaced on social media. The images received flak for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus. Rameshwar Sharma, a BJP MLA from Huzur in Bhopal, demanded that a FIR be filed against those behind the incident, which he claimed, showed disrespect to Lord Shiva by building a set around the Shivalinga.

Salman has now issued a clarification and said the Shivlinga was covered with wooden planks to protect the idol and maintain its sanctity. He confirmed that it was removed after the shoot.

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Namaste, Salaam Alaikum, Hello and a big thank you to all my fans & the police of #madhyapradesh #maheshwar #dabangg3 @prabhudheva @arbaazkhanofficial @nikhildwivedi25

A post shared by Salman Khan (@beingsalmankhan) on Apr 3, 2019 at 6:40am PDT

Harsh Dave, the line producer of Dabangg 3 from Madhya Pradesh, has also now put out a statement that they had constructed a perimeter for the Shivalinga and put two people near it to guard it so that people would not walk on it. “We had no intention of hurting anyone’s religious sentiments and have relocated the set,” his statement concluded.

The makers have also been criticised for closing off the Rajwada Palace to devotees who were prevented from visiting Maa Ahilya’s historical site for the duration of the shoot. According to reports, a group by the name of Sanyojak Navyuvak Hindu Mitra Mandal claims religious sentiments were hurt as Hindu saints and priests were made to dance for one of Dabangg 3’s songs. An appeal has now been made to run an investigation on this case.

The shooting of Salman Khan’s Dabangg 3 has apparently instigated resentment amongst the devotees. Almost the entire fort was converted into a film set, due to which numerous devotees and tourists who visited the palace faced problems. Locals as well as people coming from other places in India who have religious sentiments towards Rajwada were reportedly unhappy. During the shoot, the main door as well as several other routes in the palace were closed due to which devotees and tourists were prevented from visiting Maa Ahilya’s historical fort and her royal artifacts. It was only after the police in-charge Jagdish Goyal’s intervention on Tuesday, that Rajwada was finally made accessible to the devotees.

The administration had granted permission for shooting for Dabangg3 with 29 conditions. However, the same were violated when the shooting began. This information was communicated by the media to Collector Gopalchandra Daad.

Sanyojak Navyuvak Hindu Mitra Mandal’s Dinesh Khatod has appealed for a procedural investigation and issued a memorandum as the religious sentiments of people were hurt with the priests and saints dancing for a song in Dabangg3.

People in large numbers came to watch the shoot, during which the bouncers confiscated their phones. Even though there was police presence on the location of the shoot due to orders, the bouncers took charge of phones, which also caused problems. The Collector said that a report should be filed against them in this case.

Salman Khan was seen dancing for the song Hud Hud Dabangg at the palace as well as at the banks of river Narmada. In his free time, Khan fed the fishes in the river. As much as the people of Maheshwar are excited for the film, they are equally upset about the fort being closed.

Collector Gopalchandra Daad told the media that tourists can’t and shouldn’t be prevented from visiting Maa Ahilya’s historical site and worship place. He has ordered the SDM to file an FIR for the violation of the 29 conditions given by the administration for the shooting of the film.

Produced by Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, Dabangg 3 is being directed by Prabhu Deva. The film marks the second collaboration of Salman and the director, the two have previously worked together in Wanted.

(Translated by Gunjan Hariramani)