Hockey India president Mohammed Mushtaque Ahmad has appealed to the Kalinga Sena to withdraw its threat of throwing ink at actor Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) during his visit here for the inauguration ceremony of the Men’s Hockey World Cup.
In a letter, Ahmad said, “Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most popular actors of India and is widely known in the hockey community for his support for hockey and movie ‘Chak de India’; and because of this he has been invited to attend the opening ceremony.”
Throwing ink at someone who has been invited as a guest shall bring a bad name to India and would show Odisha in very poor light in front of all international guests including teams, he said, requesting the outfit to withdraw its protest.
Notably, the Kalinga Sena has threatened to throw ink at Khan’s face for allegedly distorting history in his film ‘Asoka’ which was released 17 years ago. It also threatened to show him black flags on his arrival. Kalinga Sena chief Hemant Rath has demanded an apology from Shah Rukh Khan for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Odisha people in ‘Asoka’. He alleged that the film dishonoured Odisha’s culture and its people by portraying the Kalinga War in a wrong manner.