Producer ‘taken aback’ as Sikh body flags film on Guru

AMRITSAR: The producer of the controversial movie ‘

Nanak Shah Fakir

’, made on the life and teachings of

Guru Nanak Dev

, has called the

SGPC

’s ban on the flick a “sudden U-turn” and said that he would like to “sit and talk” with its decision-makers.

Harinder Singh Sikka, whose movie was scheduled for a relaunch on April 13, said the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had earlier given a clean chit to the movie. He said the SGPC had, in fact, recommended that gurdwaras and educational institutions should ensure proper advertisement of the movie, so that a large number of students could watch it and learn about Sikh gurus and their history.

Talking to TOI on Friday, Sikka said he did not know what went wrong. “The SGPC had wholeheartedly recommended everyone to watch the movie after I edited it as per its directions,” he said.

Sikh bodies have objected to the portrayal of Guru Nanak in human form in the movie and urged

Akal Takht

jathedar Gurbachan Singh to issue directions for a ban. Clarifying that ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’ was not an animation movie, Sikka said actors had played their role in the movie, but the image of Guru Nanak was made using visual effects. “We made a 14-foot-tall image of Guru Nanak in the clouds, on directions given by the SGPC’s sub-committee,” he said.

When contacted, SGPC spokesperson Daljit Singh Bedi said they would have a review and reach a decision as per the aspirations of the sangat (commnity). “The then chief secretary of SGPC, Harcharan Singh, had issued a no-objection certificate (

NOC

), but now we are flooded with complaints from ‘sangat’, which has raised objections after seeing the trailer of the movie on TV,” he said.