Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Khadims, Dargah Committee blame each other over Katrina issue

Bureau Report - Zee News - Noida,India
Thursday, October 5, 2006

The row over filming of a sequence of "Namaste London" and actress Katrina Kaif's wearing a short skirt inside Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's Dargah here has set off a blame game between Khadims (servers) and the shrine administration.

The Dargah Committee, which runs the Sufi Shirne, and the Ajuman Committe, which is an association of Khadims, have started pointing accusing fingers at each other for the controversy.

Syed Munawar Chishthi, a member of the Anjuman Committee, sought to play down the issue of Katrina's dress and said the media had "blown it out of proportion".

Eyebrows were raised when Katrina, clad in a knee-length skirt, entered the tomb along with actor Rishi Kapoor on October 2 and offered a 'Chadar' at the Sufi saint's Dargah for a scene in the film.

In keeping with Islamic traditions, women wearing skimpy outfits are not allowed into the shrine and Dargah officials and the Muslim community have taken exception to Katrina's attire.

Working Nazim of Dargah Committee Abdul Alim said that legal action would be taken against the producer of the film Vipul Shah for filming the sequence of the movie.

As it was a holiday on October 2 because of Gandhi Jayanti, the administrative staff of the Dargah Committee could not stop the shooting here, he said.

Alim said he has submitted an inquiry report on the incident to the Director V K Pandey of the ministry which deals with minority issues.

"We also complained to suspend the responsible persons who brought Katrina and crew for filming the movie sequence", he said.

"No employee could be suspended as we don't have a written complaint and the investigations in the case are still on", Alim said.

He attributed the whole controversy to the "Khadims" and said as some of the influential Khadims were seen along with the film crew on that day and this might be the reason why they were not stopped.

Vice President of Dargah Committee Syed Bari Chishti said it was the duty of office-bearers of Anjuman Committee that was accompanying the Bollywood team to ensure the maintenance of sanctity of the shrine.

Syed Munawar Chishti, a member of Anjuman Committee, said Katrina's dress is not an issue which was "blown out of proportion in the media".

He alleged "sometimes pilgrims too wear such dresses and no one takes notice of it but when it comes to a celebrity, people always make hues and cry over it".

When contacted, some of the Khadims said that people should forget Katrina's dress issue as many Bollywood stars have been visiting the shrine to offer “Chadar” and any controversy would not do good to the Dargah.

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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Khadims, Dargah Committee blame each other over Katrina issue
Bureau Report - Zee News - Noida,India
Thursday, October 5, 2006

The row over filming of a sequence of "Namaste London" and actress Katrina Kaif's wearing a short skirt inside Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's Dargah here has set off a blame game between Khadims (servers) and the shrine administration.

The Dargah Committee, which runs the Sufi Shirne, and the Ajuman Committe, which is an association of Khadims, have started pointing accusing fingers at each other for the controversy.

Syed Munawar Chishthi, a member of the Anjuman Committee, sought to play down the issue of Katrina's dress and said the media had "blown it out of proportion".

Eyebrows were raised when Katrina, clad in a knee-length skirt, entered the tomb along with actor Rishi Kapoor on October 2 and offered a 'Chadar' at the Sufi saint's Dargah for a scene in the film.

In keeping with Islamic traditions, women wearing skimpy outfits are not allowed into the shrine and Dargah officials and the Muslim community have taken exception to Katrina's attire.

Working Nazim of Dargah Committee Abdul Alim said that legal action would be taken against the producer of the film Vipul Shah for filming the sequence of the movie.

As it was a holiday on October 2 because of Gandhi Jayanti, the administrative staff of the Dargah Committee could not stop the shooting here, he said.

Alim said he has submitted an inquiry report on the incident to the Director V K Pandey of the ministry which deals with minority issues.

"We also complained to suspend the responsible persons who brought Katrina and crew for filming the movie sequence", he said.

"No employee could be suspended as we don't have a written complaint and the investigations in the case are still on", Alim said.

He attributed the whole controversy to the "Khadims" and said as some of the influential Khadims were seen along with the film crew on that day and this might be the reason why they were not stopped.

Vice President of Dargah Committee Syed Bari Chishti said it was the duty of office-bearers of Anjuman Committee that was accompanying the Bollywood team to ensure the maintenance of sanctity of the shrine.

Syed Munawar Chishti, a member of Anjuman Committee, said Katrina's dress is not an issue which was "blown out of proportion in the media".

He alleged "sometimes pilgrims too wear such dresses and no one takes notice of it but when it comes to a celebrity, people always make hues and cry over it".

When contacted, some of the Khadims said that people should forget Katrina's dress issue as many Bollywood stars have been visiting the shrine to offer “Chadar” and any controversy would not do good to the Dargah.

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