Mumbai: Even as Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Tuesday said the presence of Pakistani artists on ‘Bigg Boss’ would not be allowed, party activists barged into the campus of the bungalow where the TV show is being shot and beat up some security guards.
The Shiv Sainiks shouted slogans and protested the move by Colors TV channel to include two Pakistanis on the show – model Veena Malik and TV actor Ali Saleem, whose TV persona Begum Nawazish Ali is very popular both in Pakistan and India.
Police say the activists beat up some private security guards.
A spokesperson for Colors TV declined to comment on the issue. The bungalow, where the artists will be housed for the next three months, is in Lonavala, around 125 km from Mumbai.
Thackeray vowed Tuesday afternoon that his party would not allow the show to continue at any cost.
“In India nowadays, we are destroying our self-respect. Under the guise of the show, Pakistan’s green poison is being spread in this country. Whoever loves this country, we shall ask for their support and not permit the show to continue, come what may,” he thundered.
He said the Sena would not be cowed down and his activists would disrupt the show.
Even the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has protested the inclusion of Pakistani actors on the show and demanded that Colors TV evict them from it.
‘Bigg Boss’, hosted by Salman Khan in its fourth season, aired its introductory episode Sunday.
Not willing to take any chances, Mumbai police have beefed up security outside Colors TV offices in Andheri east since Monday.
IANS
First Published: Tuesday, October 05, 2010, 16:36