The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on September 16 demanded an immediate ban on TV serial Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, alleging that it has hurt the sentiments of Sikh community by portraying a series of blasphemous acts.
In a statement to the media, SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar said the serial had hurt the community by depicting a living character of tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, which was "against the Sikh tenets".
"No actor or any character can equate himself with the tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. Such an act is unpardonable," he said.
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The apex religious body of the Sikh warned the channel and the director of the show from showing "blasphemous" content on small screen.
Reacting to the controversy, Munmun Dutta, who plays Babita in the show expressed her shock and said, "First and foremost, I didn't even know about any such controversy until today morning when I heard Gurucharan talking about it. This is a clear case of misunderstanding. Gurucharan (Sodhi) who is a staunch Sikh himself will never do and speak anything that goes against the sentiments of Sikhs all around the world. I clearly remember having a conversation with him about this particular sequence on the day of the shoot and he had mentioned that nobody is allowed to play Guru Gobind Singh ji and thus he is enacting the role of his Khalsa. And that's exactly what we shot and showed on TV."
(With inputs from PTI)