Members of the Muslim Shia community, who complained that some lyrics from the song “Haq Hussain” in the Bollywood film Khuda Haafiz: Chapter 2 – Agni Pariksha hurt their religious sensibilities, have received an apology from the film’s creators.
Earlier, the song Haq Hussain from the movie had infuriated the Shia community. They stated that some of the lyrics in the song violated their religious convictions. The makers said in a statement that they have removed the ‘insulting’ lyrics and are open to reworking the song.
In a statement released on Social Media, the makers said, “We the makers of Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2 Agni Pariksha take cognizance of the concerns expressed by a few people of the Shia community and sincerely apologise for the fact that elements of the song ‘Haq Hussain’ have unintentionally hurt their sentiments. Objections were raised by a few people of the community for the word ‘Hussain’ and the use of the matam zanjeer.”
#KhudaHaafizChapter2AgniPariksha
— Panorama Studios (@PanoramaMovies) July 4, 2022
In cinemas on 08 July 2022 pic.twitter.com/KPdSaMiypj
The statement further added, “We have unilaterally decided to make changes to the song. In consultation with the Censor Board, we have removed zanjeer blades from the song and we’ve changed the lyrics of the song ‘Haq Hussain’ to ‘Junoon Hai.'”
The filmmakers also said that no Shia community member was shown demeaningly in the movie, nor did any Shia community member harm anybody in the movie.
Further clarifying about the song, the statement read, “The song was created with the most pious intent to celebrate the glory of Imam Hussain and the intention was never to hurt religious sentiments. Nonetheless, voluntarily, keeping the sentiments of the Shia sect in mind, we have made the aforementioned changes.”
Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2 will be released on July 8, 2022. The movie is a sequel to Khuda Haafiz, which was released on OTT streaming platforms in 2020. Alongside Vidyut Jammwal, the movie also features Shivaleeka Oberoi. Written and directed by Faruk Kabir, it is produced by Ram Mirchandani, Sneha Bimal Parekh, Abhishek Pathak, and Kumar Mangat Pathak.
