'Chhapaak' faces saffron protest in UP, Posters torn

Deepika Padukone starrer movie on acid attack victims 'Chhapaak' faced protests from saffron outfits in different parts of Uttar Pradesh on the first day of its release, according to the reports.

Saffron activists, who also included BJP workers, torn posters of the movie at many places and also prevented the people from entering the theaters screening the film on Friday.

At many places the theater owners canceled some shows of the movie apprehending trouble, reports said.

Bajarang Dal (BD) activists allegedly torn the posters of the film at a cinema hall at Bhopa in the state's Muzaffarnagar district, about 500 kilometers from here, reports said.

Sources said that security personnel in strength had been deployed around the theaters, where the movie was screened but at most places the number of viewers was average.

In the state capital of Lucknow, however, the movie earned praise from the viewers, especially the women and girls, who thronged the theaters to watch the film.

Saffron outfits have threatened to ransack theaters and also harm those going to see the film in protest against Deepika Padukone's support for the JNU students' union president Aishe Ghosh.

Deepika had a few days back visited the JNU campus and met Ghosh and had also expressed her support to the agitation against the recent attack on the students by masked men.

The saffron activists were angry with Deepika for not visiting the injured students belonging to the ABVP, the student wing of the BJP.