Bhubaneswar: The Kalinga Sena, a fringe outfit in Odisha, withdrew its threat of throwing ink on Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan during his visit to the state for the opening ceremony of the Men’s Hockey World Cup-2018 tomorrow.
The outfit’s decision came following Hockey India president Mohammed Mushtaque Ahmad’s appeal to them to withdraw their planned protest against the actor.
The Kalinga Sena had threatened to throw ink on Khan’s face for allegedly distorting history in his film ‘Asoka’ which was released 17 years ago. Besides, they had demanded an apology from Shah Rukh for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Odisha people alleging that the film dishonoured the state’s culture and its people by portraying the Kalinga War in a wrong manner.
The outfit had also threatened to show him black flags on his arrival in the city. However, it canceled its plan after the Hockey India president requested them for the same earlier today.
“Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most popular actors of India and is widely known in the hockey community for his support for hockey and movie Chak de India and because of this he has been invited to attend the Opening Ceremony,” said Ahmad in a letter.
“Throwing ink on someone who has been invited as a guest shall bring a bad name to India and will show Odisha in very poor light in front of all international guests including teams,” he added requesting the outfit to withdraw its protest towards the actor.
It is worthwhile to mention here that the King Khan of the Bollywood is slated to perform at the Opening ceremony of the Hockey World Cup at Kalinga Stadium tomorrow along with Grammy award-winning music composer AR Rahman.
The Shah Rukh-Rahman pair will perform in the anthem of the tournament – ‘Jai Hind India.’
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Ms Kalinga