Katrina Kaif’s “Skimpy Skirt” Causes Uproar in Temple
Katrina Kaif was causing a ripple of excitement in Ajmer before she even arrived. The former model, who is delving deep into the medium of film with a dizzying number of projects this fall, is beginning to distinguish herself as an up-and-coming actress after first coming into the public eye as Salman Kahn’s significant other.
Her current film, “Namaste London,” directed by Vipul Shah and co-starring Rishi Kapoor, is mostly shooting in England, but the production moved to Ajmer for a couple of days of filming earlier this week. Kapoor plays Kaif’s father, who takes his daughter on a tour of important religious sites in India, where about 20% of the film will be shot. One of these places is the dargah in Ajmer, the shrine for the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chisthti. The Dargah Committee granted the filmmakers of “Namaste London” the right to film pilgrims coming for ziyarat, in addition to several important scenes with the principal actors.
Enter Katrina, followed by controversy. The khadims are currently in a frenzy because the actress was not sufficiently covered, and are battling with those who say she was. A senior Khadim of the dargah, Irfan Rizvi, assessed Kaif’s ‘mini-skirt’ as follows: “The actress came here wearing a very short and skimpy dress. It was like a frock that exposed her legs to a large degree. This is totally wrong and uncalled for.”
The “short and skimpy dress” in question, was, in fact, a peach-coloured skirt that fell just below Kaif’s knees. The spokesperson for the Khadim Association of Ajmer Dargah, Sarwar Chishti, attempted to dismiss the indignation of the more conservative of his peers. “Women should cover their head. This is what is followed. Row over actress’ skirt is completely unjustified.” Chishsti, who led the stars around the dargah and performed the ziyarat for the film, was adamant that brouhaha surrounding her costume was undeserved. “In no way was it obscene and it did not violate the sanctity of the shrine,” he proclaimed.
Director Shah revealed that the objections took place entirely after the fact, and that Kaif’s costume had even been approved by the dargah committee beforehand. “We had discussed Kaif’s costume with the dargah committee. They said she should cover her head with a dupatta, which she did.” Furthermore, the shooting was all done in full view of the dargah’s authorities, and the stir only began after the filming was completed. “Nobody objected to it. It was only about half an hour after the shoot was over that this issue was raised,” Shah said.
However, Shah is repentant for any injury the issue may have caused, and has expressed a willingness to cut the scene from the film should the khadims request it. “My intention was not to hurt any religious sentiments, I am not the kind of man who would go to any extent for a movie,” Vipul said.
Katrina, meanwhile, claims no responsibility for the skirt, which was only the clothing decided upon and given to her by the costume department of the film. She is looking ahead to the prospect of shooting the rest of the film, followed by her other projects. Most notably, she has been signed on by Rituparno Ghosh to play the title character in Bankim Chandra’s “Devi Choudharni,” an exciting move for her and her blossoming career.