Siddharth Anand on Pathaan boycott calls over Deepika Padukone’s saffron outfit in Besharam Rang: ‘We were not scared’

Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s Pathaan grabbed headlines last year, when its first song Besharam Rang dropped, and was slammed by a section of people, especially because of what Deepika wore in the song. The actor was seen in a saffron bikini as she danced on a beach in Spain and romanced Shah Rukh. Now, filmmaker Siddharth Anand has addressed how the team dealt with Pathaan facing boycott calls at the time. Also read: CBFC asks Pathaan makers to make changes in Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone film before release

Despite facing threats, criticism and boycott calls before the film’s release, both Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan remained silent. The film’s makers, Yash Raj Films, too refrained from reacting to the boycott calls. Now, in a new interview, director Siddharth Anand said that since ‘there was nothing objectionable in the film’, the cast and crew was ‘not scared’.

Siddharth Anand said during an interaction with News18. “We were not scared. We knew that there was nothing objectionable in our film.” He further called the Pathaan boycott calls ‘a white noise’. The filmmaker also recalled how the colour of Deepika’s outfit came about during the shoot.

Siddharth said, “When we were in Spain, I chose that costume randomly. We never gave it a too much thought. The colour was looking nice. It was sunny, the grass was greener and the water was blue and the orange colour was looking good. We thought when the audience would watch it they would understand that our intent was not wrong.”

Pathaan song Besharam Rang featuring Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh dropped on December 12, 2022. A sequence in the song showed Deepika wearing an orange bikini. Those who had expressed their displeasure over Besharam Rang, and had demanded changes in the film before it’s release, included Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra. A complaint had also been filed before a court in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, seeking the registration of an FIR against Shah Rukh, Deepika and others for ‘hurting religious sentiments’ with their song Besharam Rang.

Pathaan, which also stars John Abraham and Dimple Kapadia, was released in theatres on January 25, and broke many box office records ever since, becoming the highest grossing Hindi film of all time.