Heavy police bandobast was put in place outside Shah Rukh Khan’s palatial residence Mannat in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon after several people gathered to protest against the actor for endorsing online gaming apps. The protestors were of the opinion that these apps misguide and corrupt the youth and that celebrities should not advocate them.
Untouch Youth Foundation stated that they will be holding a protest against online gaming apps and portals like Junglee Rummy, Zupee, and others.
Protest outside SRK’s residence
An official statement by the organisation which led the protest read, “Famous actors and actress work in these advertisements and they are working towards misguiding the society. The protest will be held outside Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat bungalow on behalf of Untouch India Foundation.”
Krishchandra Adal, President, Untouch India Foundation, stated, “The new generation is involved in playing Junglee rummy. If someone is playing Junglee rummy or gambling outside, the police arrest them, but big Bollywood stars promoting online games are misleading the young generation. The Bollywood stars also know it is wrong, but they are getting money so they are promoting them. We make these stars famous by watching their movies and spending our money on them. We demand these advertisements to stop. These apps are illegal, we can not find them on Google, but these apps are uploaded on private web sites.”
He added, “Apart from Shah Rukh Khan, we oppose Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh, Prakash Raj, Annu Kapoor, Rana Daggubati and cricketers who promote the online game. We wanted to protest outside the houses of these stars as well, but the police detained us.”
Around 4-5 people have been detained by the cops.
For the unawares, SRK is the brand ambassador for A23 Games, which is an online rummy portal. In the advertisment, the actor can be heard reiterating the tagline “Chalo Saath Khelein”, while promoting the gaming app.
Source: Free Press Journal