Mumbai: Actor and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Dr. Amol Kolhe has come under fire from his own party leader for playing Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse in the upcoming film. The issue has also sparked debate on social media.
NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad has hit out at actor-turned-MP Kolhe for “supporting” Godse’s views. Kolhe, MP from Shirur Lok Sabha constituency, has said that playing a historical character does not mean that he idolizes or supports that person.
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According to the trailer of Kolhe starrer Hindi film “Why I Killed Gandhi”, the film is slated to release on the OTT platform on January 30. Minister and NCP’s Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil tried to pacify the matter on Friday. Patil said, “Kolhe completed the shooting of the film in 2017. He had joined the NCP a few months before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. After that film, Kolhe also played the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in a Marathi serial. People have accepted him as an actor as well as an MP.”
Patil said, “His performance in Lok Sabha also is good. You can watch his speeches on YouTube. He has also supported the ideas of great social reformers like Shahu Maharaj, Jyotirao Phule and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. We condemn the film (based on Godse).”
Earlier, after the trailer of the film came out, NCP leader Awhad had targeted Kolhe over the issue. Awhad said, “The trailer suggests that Amol Kolhe has played the role of Nathuram Godse. He played Godse as an actor, but it is really an endorsement of his ideas. You cannot justify killing Gandhi in the guise of an artist.”
Kolhe also met NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday to clarify his position. “Just because I played that role, doesn’t mean I support the character’s views,” Kolhe told reporters.