Actor Richa Chadha has been facing backlash for her upcoming movie Madam Chief Minister, where she plays the role of a Dalit woman. The controversy began after the posters for the movie was released earlier this month. In one of the posters of her upcoming film, Richa was seen holding a broom, which many claimed indicates the stereotyping of the Dalit community. The poster was withdrawn after it received backlash from various fringe groups, however, the row over the same did not end.
Despite the actor issuing an apology after the matter blew up into a full-fledged controversy, Bhim Sena chief Nawab Satpal Tanwar has threatened to kill Richa Chadha is the movie is released.
In a Facebook post, the Bhim Sena leader said that the apology has not been accepted and that her movie wouldn’t be allowed to release. He threatened to kill Richa Chadha if that happens. He also announced a reward (Rs 2 crore shield of Ambedkar) for anyone who brings her severed tongue. He also asked his supporters to bring to him the director of the movie- Subhash Kapoor, following which he said he would walk him naked on the streets.
“Jo bhai ya behen Richa Chadha ki zubaan kaat kar ke le ke aayega. Usse hum Baba Ambedkar sahab ki Rs 2 crore ki shield se sammanit karenge. Jo Subhash Kapoor (director) ko leke aayega humare saamne… hum Subhash Kapoor ko nanga karke sadak ke upar parade karwayenge. Agar goli bhi maarni padi na Bahujan Samaj ki raksha ke liye … behen Mayawati ke samman ke liye…. hum peeche nahi hatange. Richa Chadha, aapko goli se uda diya jayega dhyaan rakhna,” said the founder and National President of Akhil Bhartiya Bhim Sena from Gurugram.
The agitated activist believes that the movie is trying to malign the image of former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and the BSP supremo Mayawati. Though the director who has also written the film claims it to be a work of fiction, Tanwar believes the film is based on Mayawati’s life and represents several wrong facts about her.
Reacting to the veiled threat, the actor has Tweeted saying ‘hum nahi darte’ (I am not scared).
हम नहीं डरते ! 💙🏹 https://t.co/NqpUaOKzrz
— TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) January 17, 2021
For the unversed, following the poster row, the actor had apologised saying the team’s intention was not to hurt anyone’s sentiments. She termed it “a regrettable and completely unintentional oversight, not a deliberate insinuation.”
She had taken to Instagram to write: “This film was learning experience for me, for us all. The promotions were no different. The first poster that was released faced severe criticism, rightly so. What to me (and my privileged eyes) was a mere prop used by my character in a scene, came across as a stereotypical portrayal of Dalits for many of our people. As an actor, I receive the communication for posting, complete with the copy, handles and hashtags”.
“Needless to say, I have no role in the designing of promotional materials. By saying this, I am not throwing the makers under the bus. They realised this inadvertent error and took this criticism in their stride. They responded immediately by retracting the objectionable poster and by releasing a new poster the very next day. It was a regrettable and a completely unintentional oversight, not a deliberate insinuation. We are sorry. Our heart is in the right place. Hopefully, you will see that for yourself when you watch the film.”
Madam Chief Minister is to have a theatrical release on January 22. It is directed by Subhash Kapoor of Jolly LLB fame, it also stars Manav Kaul, Saurabh Shukla, Akshay Oberoi and others.
