Shah Rukh Khan trolled for his gesture at Lata Mangeshkar's funeral

The actor had removed his mask and blew air to ward off evil spirits

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was trolled on social media platforms over the way he prayed before the mortal remains of Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar at her funeral in Mumbai'S Shivaji Park on Sunday.

SRK, who was accompanied by his manager Pooja Dadlani, offered ‘dua’, while the latter folded her hands and offered ‘pranams’.

The actor, thereafter, removed his mask and blew air to ward off evil spirits.

Even as the photo went viral and people from diverse spheres and backgrounds appreciated the gesture, a tweet by Arun Yadav, whose Twitter handle describes him as the state-in-charge of Haryana BJP's IT Cell, questioned saying - “Kya isne thuka hai” (did he spit?) - triggering a massive controversy.

The actor was trolled throughout the day -- saying that he had spat at the mortal remains.

Several fact-checking agencies too clarified that SRK was not spitting and it was a gesture to ward off evil spirits.

Coming to SRK’s defence, Indian Film & TV Directors' Association has condemned the trolls.

“Fringe targeting Shah Rukh Khan by falsely accusing him of spitting at Lata Mangeshkar ji’s funeral should be ashamed of themselves. He prayed and blew on her mortal remains for protection and blessings for her onward journey. Such communal filth has no place in a country like ours,” IFDTA Honorary President Ashoke Pandit said.

Zafar Sareshwala, former chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, said: “Some bigots can’t even digest this beautiful sight of uniting India! Truly Lata Mangeshkar ji was that human who united people alive and continued doing after passing away! Shah Rukh Khan is one of that breed spreading love".

Comedian Kunal Kamra added: “You can’t take SRK down; there's an entire generation of adults who called trains “chaiya chaiya” as kids. He’s our childhood, we all have something to cherish about him. SRK represents every Indian, the Sanghis trying to spread nonsense don’t even represent every Hindu”.

Reacting sharply, Shiv Sena leader Urmila Matondkar, told a TV channel: “As a society, we have deteriorated so much that we think praying is spitting. You are talking about an actor who has represented the country on various international platforms. Politics has reached such low levels and it's really sad.”

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