Sikh body SGPC objects to 'Yaariyan-2' actor sporting 'kirpan'

The SGPC, the apex religious body of the Sikhs, has taken strong objection to actor Meezaan Jafri allegedly wearing a 'kirpan' -- a symbol of Sikh faith -- in a song in the upcoming movie Yaariyan-2, and warned of legal action against the filmmakers if the 'objectionable' video is not removed.

However, the film directors claimed the actor is wearing a 'khukri' (a curved knife) and not a 'kirpan' and that they have no intention to offend or disrespect any religious beliefs.

The Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, Giani Raghbir Singh has also directed the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) to take a strict legal action in the matter.

“We raise our strong objection to these visuals filmed, published in Saure Ghar song of Yaariyan 2 film directed by Radhika Rao & Vinay Sapru  @SapruAndRao, as actor is seen wearing Sikh Kakaar (symbol of Sikh faith) 'Kirpan' in a highly objectionable manner which cannot be accepted,' the SGPC said on 'X'.

"This has seriously hurt the religious sentiments of Sikh community across the globe. Only an initiated Sikh has the right to wear 'Kirpan' as per Sikh Code of Conduct of Akal Takht Sahib and the right given by the Constitution of India,” it said.

The apex gurudwara body of the Sikhs said it will take up the matter with the government.

“This video song is public at the official @YouTube channel of @TSeries, which must take it down with immediate effect. If any other platform is used to publish this video song with the said objectionable scenes must also take it down. We are immediately raising this objection through all channels to the Government and digital platforms,” it said.

The SGPC sought the intervention of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in the matter.

"We request @MIB_India and @GoI_MeitY to ensure that this objectionable video or any of such unacceptable scenes of the said film are not cleared for release by the Censor Board of Film Certification. If the videos are not taken down from public view, we shall initiate the legal proceedings as per law for hurting religious sentiments of the minority Sikh community,” the SGPC said.

The directors of the film, Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, said they regret any misunderstanding.

"We would like to address the concerns regarding the visuals in the song - Saure Ghar from our recent film Yaariyan 2. We would like to clarify that the actor in the song is wearing a 'khukri' and not a 'kirpan'. In fact the dialogues in the film make it explicitly clear that it is a khukri," they said, adding their intention was not to offend any religious beliefs.

"We want to emphasise our deep respect for religious sentiments," they added.