Anurag Kashyap On Manmarziyaan 'Smoking' Scene Controversy: I'm Sorry If Anyone Feels Genuinely Hurt
On Tuesday, a petition was filed by the Supreme Sikh Organisation objecting to a scene in Manmarziyaan where Abhishek Bachchan's character Robbie is smoking a cigarette after taking off his turban.
While
Anurag
Kashyap's
Manmarziyaan
received
rave
reviews,
a
few
section
of
the
Sikh
community
felt
offended
over
certain
scenes
in
the
film.
On
Tuesday,
a
petition
was
filed
by
the
Supreme
Sikh
Organisation
objecting
to
a
scene
in
film
where
Abhishek
Bachchan's
character
Robbie
is
smoking
a
cigarette
after
taking
off
his
turban.
The
complainant
raised
an
objection
stating
that
Robbie,
who
plays
a
Sardar
character,
"solemnises
his
marriage
rituals
in
a
gurudwara
and
then
goes
out.
He
removes
his
turban
and
smokes
a
cigarette."
As
per
the
petitioner,
it
hurts
the
sentiments
of
the
Sikh
religion.
It
further
stated
that
since
the
actors
are
role
models
for
the
young
generation,
such
scenes
give
a
wrong
message
to
the
society.
Finally,
Anurag
Kashyap
reacted
to
the
ongoing
controversy
and
issued
a
long
statement
explaining
his
stance
and
defending
the
film.
Here's
what
the
filmmaker
wrote-
Manmarziyaan
Is
Not
Commenting
On
A
Community
"I
am
not
in
India
and
I
have
been
reading
about
the
Sikh
community
feeling
offended
by
the
smoking
scene.
This
film
is
not
commenting
on
a
community,
it
talks
about
individuals
and
their
choices."
Anurag
On
How
He
Shot
His
Scenes
"Every
step
of
the
way,
we
asked
for
guidance
from
Sikh
people
for
the
film.
When
we
shot
the
sequence
in
Gurudwara,
we
were
told
we
can't
shoot
them
getting
married
as
it
can't
be
faked
so
me
made
the
actors
do
only
"Mattha
tekna
".
When
we
were
shooting
scenes
,
no
member
of
crew
was
allowed
to
smoke
inside
the
houses.
'We
Created
What
We
Saw
With
Our
Own
Eyes'
"When
we
shot
the
smoking
scene
,
it
was
shot
on
the
street
and
there
were
close
to
150
people
watching
the
shoot.
We
asked
before
doing
the
scene
and
were
told
that
he
has
to
take
the
Turban
off
before
he
smokes
away
from
his
house.
We
were
also
shown
how
Robbie
should
take
the
turban
off
with
both
hands
and
how
he
should
hand
it
over
and
how
the
cousin
should
take
it
.
Most
of
the
150
people
in
the
crowd
were
sikhs
and
we
were
told
that's
how
it
is.
We
created
what
we
saw
with
our
own
eyes
and
after
discussion.
It
was
never
the
intention
to
hurt
the
community
and
why
would
we
do
that
when
we
got
so
much
love
from
them."
'Manmarziyaan
Is
A
Story
Of
Three
Individuals
&
Not
Their
Religion'
"The
city
of
Amritsar
opened
their
hearts
and
doors
to
us
and
everything
was
done
with
utmost
care.
Not
a
single
thing
was
shot
without
guidance.
We
wanted
to
show
things
the
way
they
are.
No
religion
teaches
crime
or
anything
anti-humanity,
yet
those
things
happen.
It
doesn't
mean
they
are
offending
the
religion.
Manmarziyaan
is
a
story
of
three
individuals
and
not
their
religion."
Anurag
Apologizes
For
Hurting
The
Sentiments
Of
Sikh
Community
"I
am
sorry
if
anyone
feels
genuinely
hurt
but
I
would
also
request
that
please
don't
make
this
unnecessary
political
because
it's
not.
I
have
always
put
out
things
the
way
they
are
without
an
agenda.
Technology
does
not
allow
us
to
cut
a
scene
and
it
affects
the
story
telling
.
So
I
definitely
can
not
do
that
now.
To
those
whose
hurt
is
genuine,
I
offer
a
genuine
apology,
that
wasn't
my
intention.
And
for
those
who
are
doing
it
for
attention,
I
am
glad
you
have
got
the
attention."