Poster of the movie 'Kedarnath'

Dehradun: The row over the Vijay-starrer ‘Sarkar’ has hardly died down and a fresh political storm appears to be set to hit another film, this time for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. A senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader has written to the Censor Board, asking the film ‘Kedarnath’ to be banned, claiming that it hurts Hindu sentiments and also promotes love jihad.

'Kedarnath', starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan, is a romantic movie set against the backdrop of the devastating deluge that struck the holy shrine in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand in 2013. On Saturday, Ajendra Ajay, who is a member of Uttarakhand BJP’s media relations team, wrote to Central Board of Film Certification Chairman Prasoon Joshi, alleging that even though the Abhishek Kapoor-directed movie was based on one of the worst human tragedies, it made fun of Hindu sentiments.

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The BJP leader also objected to a kissing scene between the film’s two protagonists - played by Singh and Khan - in the film’s teaser as well as the tagline of the movie’s poster which says “Love is a pilgrimage.” Ajay claimed that the movie was an attack on the Hindu religion because Kedarnath shrine was a symbol of the faith of crores of Hindus. Also read: Why Abhishek Kapoor used Kedarnath tragedy as backdrop of Sara Ali Khan, Sushant Singh Rajput's love story

Speaking to PTI, Ajay said, "By setting a romantic love story against the backdrop of a huge tragedy that occurred at Kedarnath, a centre of faith for crores of Hindus, the filmmakers have shown great disrespect to the followers of the religion.”

The BJP leader also took exception to the film showcasing the love story between a Muslim porter and a Hindi pilgrim, questioning why the filmmakers couldn’t find a Hindu character for the lead. He accused the movie of promoting love jihad, stating that the film showed Kedarnath in a flippant manner, thus triggering “acute resentment among teertha purohits.”

Ajay urged CBFC chief to impose a ban on the movie, movie produced by Ronnie Screwwala and Pragya Kapoor, warning that the film’s release could result in large-scale protests.