Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur has demanded that ‘Grahan’ web series based on the incidents of the 1984 riots be banned immediately as it portrays a Sikh character in an “objectionable manner”.
She demanded that the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry should ban the series, which is scheduled to be released on the Disney+Hotstar platform on 24 June.
Addressing the press conference here on Monday, Kaur said, “A Sikh character has been portrayed in an objectionable manner in a web series called Grahan based on the 1984 Sikh genocide. In the web series, the charge of Sikh genocide is being levelled against a Sikh character which is highly condemnable and fabricated.”
“A legal notice has been sent by a witness of the genocide Nirpreet Kaur to Ajay G Rai, producer of Grahan web series and Sunil Ryan, head and president of Disney+Hotstar. The SGPC also supports this notice,” she said.
SGPC president Kaur said, “Through this web series, work is being done to rub salt on the wounds of Sikhs which would hurt the Sikh sentiments. Such films also hurt the communal harmony in society. Therefore, the government should enact strict Information Technology (IT) rules to curb such sensitive and objectionable trends.”
Here’s what Twitter users have to say as the hashtag trends:
Stop playing with our pain. We strongly condemns and ask you not to release such series. #BanGrahanWebSeries @DisneyPlusHS @Disney @disneyplus pic.twitter.com/gIoBljSmtj
— Jazz 🪯🌾ਗਰਮ ਖਿਆਲੀ (@itsBrarBaby) June 23, 2021
https://twitter.com/stubbornkhosa/status/1407503563601760257
https://twitter.com/amaanbali/status/1407535132626493441?s=20
In the web series, the charge of Sikh genocide is being levelled against a Sikh character
which is highly condemnable and fabricated.#BanGrahanWebSeries pic.twitter.com/Yc22iBu6RA— ਜਸਮੀਤ ਕੌਰ { ਮਲਵੈਣ}🌟 (@Jasmeet120435) June 23, 2021
The series is inspired by Satya Vyas’s novel Chaurasia following the two interlinked stories and the aftermath of 1984-anti-Sikh riots. The show stars Pavan Raj Malhotra, Zoya Hussain, Anshuman Pushkar, Wamiqa Gabbi in the lead. Produced by Jar pictures and directed by Ranjan Chandel, the show will premiere tomorrow June 24th.