'OMG' effect: Right wing group thwarts opening by Akshay

Panaji: A right wing Hindu outfit has opposed inviting Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar for inaugurating the forthcoming IFFI, scheduled in Goa from November 20, claiming his recent film Oh My God allegedly hurt religious sentiments.

OMG is a satire on organised religion, starring Akshay and Paresh Rawal in lead roles.

“The film has already hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. Inauguration of a major international event like IFFI at the hands of the producer of the film, Akshay, is like rubbing salt on the wounds of Hindus in this secular state,” Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) State Convenor Manoj Solanki said in a memorandum to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The Goa government is yet to formally react to the memorandum of HJS but a senior official from the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), which is a nodal agency conducting the festival, said the memorandum would be discussed in the high level committee before arriving at any decision.

PTI