Amritsar Sahib (KP) – Shortly after the filming of "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" at Sri Harmandir Sahib, SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar has finally come out to oppose the support SGPC has been providing to Bollywood for their movie shoots. According to a press conference by Makkar, the movie crew often care nothing about maryada and if such a trend continues, the SGPC will consider banning all Bollywood filming within the Harmandir Sahib premises.
According to Makkar, the number of requests to shoot scenes at Harmandar Sahib have increased greatly and it becomes very awkward for Sikh pilgrims to take part in different services when scenes are being recorded at Darbar Sahib. Furthermore, a majority of movies shot at Harmandir Sahib have nothing to do with the Sikh religion. Soon, the SGPC will only allow permission for those movies that work to create awareness of Sikh principles.
The statement by Makkar has come shortly after a controversy stirred when Shah Rukh Khan, an actor, was supposedly seen smoking a cigarette within the Khalsa College (Sri Amritsar) premises. If the SGPC successfully implements the idea, sacrilege of Gurmat Maryada is bound is decrease. The SGPC has been under a lot of pressure as it has failed to work appropriately while providing assistance to Bollywood based movies casting Sikh characters.
Bollywood filmmakers are not pleased with the latest developments however. If the SGPC does go ahead with its plan, it would mean massive delays for at least six different movies that are set to be released within the next year. Several high-profile Bollywood filmmakers have sent correspondence to the SGPC asking it to re-consider its policies. According to Manmohan Singh, a Bollywood based cinematographer, to ban filming at Harmandir Sahib would be a bad move as there is no other venue that could take the place of Harmandir Sahib. However, he pressed that the guidelines could be clearly framed, it would make it easier for film crews to follow them.
Another filmmaker, Madhur Bhandarkar, has also questioned the SGPC’s recent developments. He has asked the SGPC to consider the matter in depth and sought out a possible solution that could work for both parties. He suggest allowing filming only on certain days and certain timings so the pilgrams aren’t distracted. However, there are no such "idle times" at Harmandir Sahib as Sikh Sangat and non-Sikhs visit the place throughout the day to seek the blessings of the Almighty.
According to another filmmaker, Vipul Shah, who concurred with Bhandarkar, the Harmandir Sahib sanctum is a pious place and by shooting there, non-Sikhs get to know of the so-called "Punjabi Culture." He asked that a committee be setup by the SGPC to oversee the film shoots and provide clear guidelines.
The amount of concern shown by Bollywood filmmakers shed light on the importance of Punjab to the film industry. If shooting at Harmandir Sahib was an important concern for Bollywood supremos, they also needed to work to publicize a positive image of Sikhs in their movies. As seen over the past decades, several Bollywood movies have been produced to present Sikhs as comical characters and in roles which are contrary to basic Gurmat principals.
