Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; November 30, 2019)

Salman Khan’s upcoming film Dabangg 3 is back at the centre of a controversy. This time, it is for its title track Hud Hud Dabangg. The song shows sadhus shake a leg with the lead character of the film Chulbul Pandey (Salman) on the banks of a river. While Chulbul is seen doing his signature moves, some sadhus are also shown playing a guitar. A Hindu organisation has reportedly found the content objectionable and hurtful towards their religious sentiments. They have asked the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to refuse the certification of the film, which is directed by Prabhudheva. We reached out to the CBFC to understand if there has been a conversation between the religious outfit and them, but there was no confirmation on the same till the time of going to press.

Sharing her thoughts on the issue, the choreographer of the song Shabina Khan says, “The song features sadhus dancing with guitars. Now, these are not real sadhus! These are dancers in a sadhu get-up performing choreographed steps. We shot the song in Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh. There were a few sadhus who had just gathered to see the shoot. You can see them standing in the background in the song.”

The choreographer says that there’s nothing objectionable about the song. Giving her reasons, she adds, “Actors have dressed up as sadhus and acted in Bollywood movies even in the past. We have seen Hema Malini teasing a sanyasi in the song Chal Sanyasi Mandir Mein from the Manoj Kumar starrer Sanyasi. Likewise, Mumtaz dressed as a sadhu was seen dancing opposite Rajesh Khanna in the song Gore Rang Pe from Roti. I think there is nothing disrespectful in the choreography of the song Hud Hud Dabangg. If people scrutinise each and every move like this then how will we make movies?” The controversy has been trending on social media for a couple of days.

Earlier, during the shooting of the film, Dabangg 3 had landed in another controversy, when the makers of the film were blamed for showing disrespect towards Lord Shiva. It began when pictures of a Shivling covered in wooden plank went viral on social media.