Music Director Devi Sri Prasad Joins The Long List Of Personalities Booked For Hurting Religious Sentiments

Music director Devi Sri Prasad aka DSP has been booked by Hyderabad Police over his new song O Pari for allegedly “hurting religious sentiments”. 

Actor Karate Kalyani, who lodged the complaint, has demanded for an apology and that the song be taken down. The police have filed a case under IPC sections 153(A) IPC and 295 (A).

Kalyani found the song’s video, which got over 20 million views on YouTube, offensive as it shows scantily clad women dancing to the tune that incorporates religious chants.

“If someone can’t say the complete verses of Bhagavad Gita or any other sacred hymns, we simply ask them to chant Hare Krishna Hare Ram,” said Kalyani, adding that even those lines are powerful. “If you aren't able to save what's left of Hindu dharma, at least don’t disgrace it. If necessary, we will even storm into his studio to make him hear us,” Kalyani added. S Vishnuvardhan Reddy, General Secretary, BJP, Andhra Pradesh, also wants DSP of the hit song Oo Antava Oo Oo Antava, to apologise “for insulting Hindus and Lord Krishna”. “It has become a habit of some people in the film industry to insult Hindu Goddesses and Gods frequently,” he added. 

DSP’s is not isolated incident. In the recent past, other film personalities faced similar complaints, warnings and backlash for their actions.

On October 23, the Karnataka Police registered an FIR against Kannada actor Chetan Ahimsa for allegedly hurting religious sentiments on the basis of a complaint that alleged he made “derogatory statements” while commenting on the tradition of Bhoota Kola during the screening of the latest Kannada movie, Kantara. He is booked under Section 505 (2) of the IPC. The complaint by a certain Shivakumar from Shankarapuram states that the actor’s observations allegedly hurt and insulted the sentiments of a community. In February, the actor was also arrested during the hijab row in Karnataka allegedly for his objectionable tweets against a High Court judge involved in the trial.

On October 13, Narottam Mishra, home minister of Madhya Pradesh, “requested” actor Aamir Khan to avoid starring in advertisements that “hurt religious sentiments”. Khan’s new ad for a bank that shows him and actor Kiara Advani as newlyweds participating in Hindu wedding rituals sparked outrage among Hindu right-wingers. It shows Khan's character taking the ceremonial first step into his bride's home after marriage—a ritual traditionally performed by Hindu brides.

In August, lawyer Vineet Jindal filed a complaint with the Delhi Police commissioner against Khan, Advait Chandan, Paramount Pictures, and others involved in the filmmaking, alleging that scenes in the actor’s new film Laal Singh Chaddha have ‘hurt the Hindu sentiments and disrespected the Indian Army’. Jindal sought an FIR under sections153, 153A, 298, and 505 of the IPC. One of the scenes under the scanner is when a Pakistani official asks Khan’s character “I offer namaz and pray, Laal, why don’t you do the same?”, to which Laal Singh Chaddha replies, “My mother said all this puja paath is malaria. It causes riots.”