Shatrughan Sinha’s sudden change of tune proves yet again that there are no permanent friends, nor permanent foes in politics! Last month, the actor turned BJP MP had openly questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bollywood veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan's silence amidst the relentless protests over the release of upcoming historic drama Padmavati.
“As Padmavati becomes a burning controversy, people are asking why the legendary Amitabh Bachchan, most versatile Aamir Khan, and most popular Shah Rukh Khan have no comments. And how come our I&B Minister or our most popular Honourable PM (according to PEW - American think tank PEW poll) are maintaining stoic silence. High time!” Mr Sinha had tweeted.
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He had added, “As for me, I would and should speak on Padmavati issue only after the 'great filmmaker, producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali' speaks up. I speak only when I am spoken to and I will speak keeping in mind the interests of the filmmaker as well as the sensitivity, valour, loyalty of the great Rajputs.”
The actor had further hit out at the top leadership, saying, “I had not joined the BJP to leave it. But I would not mince words when I say that we cannot meet our challenges if we continue to be a one-man show and a two-man army,” referring to Prime Minister Modi and party president Amit Shah's hold on the party.
A month later, the actor-politician is singing a new tune. Now he has hit out against filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali for holding a private screening of Padmavati for select media-persons even before the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had certified the film. Speaking at the side-lines of an event organised by Karni Sena, he stated that Bhansali had promised to screen the film first for the members of Karni Sena but didn’t keep his promise. For his efforts in opposing the film, the Bihar unit of Sri Rajput Karni Sena has felicitated Shatrughan Sinha by presenting an image of queen Padmini. Such is politics!