Akshay Kumar & Twinkle Khanna in Navy Uniform Row: Rustom Costume Was Not Even a Perfect Uniform
Controversy has rocked Bollywood industry once again when Akshay Kumar, the main lead of movie ‘Rustom’ decided to auction his naval uniform which he wore in the movie for charity
Mumbai, April 30: Controversy has rocked Bollywood industry once again when Akshay Kumar, the main lead of movie ‘Rustom’ decided to auction his naval uniform which he wore in the movie for charity. His decision was criticised by various defence personnel considering it as an insult of the uniform as it was just a costume worn in the movie. Kumar played a character of the naval,officer Rustom Pavri. The movie was loosely based on the famous 'Nanavati murder case' of 1959.
Kumar’s wife, author and producer Twinkle Khanna supported him. She promoted Akshay Kumar’s decision of auctioning the uniform for charity through her tweet. This worsen the situation.
Responding to Khanna’s tweet senior army officer Lt. Col Sandeep Ahlawat expressed his anger against auctioning of the uniform. In his Facebook post he wrote:
Dear Twinkle Khanna
I am not on Instagram so giving you a rebuttal on Facebook. Your idea of auctioning the costume your husband donned in the movie Rustom for raising money for your NGO is as sick as your funnybones jokes/book/blog. Your Instagram post on the following idea is flawed on the following grounds
What your husband wore in movie Rustom was a costume and not uniform.
Indian Armed Forces wives (Army, Navy, Air Force) do not auction their husbands' uniforms.
Uniform is not a piece of cloth that a producer hands over to cinestars for enacting roles and make some quick bucks. The permission to wear the uniform comes from the office of the President of India. Uniform is earned with your blood, toil and sweat which is placed on the mortal remains of a soldier along with the tricolour.
If you even make a feeble attempt to auction this piece of costume in the garb of ‘UNIFORM’ then I will drag you to the court. You may like to check my credentials. You touch our honour and we will give you a bloody nose.
Warm regards,
An enraged citizen!!
India Today’s senior journalist Sandeep Unnithan tweeted Lt. Col. Ahlawats message to Twinkle Khanna. Unnithan claimed the officer was one of the finest men in the uniform known to him.
Replying to Lt. Col. Ahlawat’s message, Khanna tweeted that she would not retaliate with violent threats but by taking legal action.
This is not the first time when Akshay Kumar has been in news for his playing a character of a Naval officer in the movie. Earlier he was criticised for wearing the incorrect naval uniform. That time also Unithann pointed out irregularities in his uniform.
Mistakes in Akshay Kumar's uniform were:
1) The Nelson Ring ( a symbol inherited as a Common Wealth armed force) on the epaulettes is facing the wrong direction.
2) Akshay Kumar was wearing a Kargil star 1999, Kargil Medal and Operation Prakaram 2001-2002 badge, but Akshay Kumar was playing a naval officer of 1950’s era.
3) Moustaches without beard were permitted only after 1971
4) Name tag was introduced only in 1970’s.
Similarly, Shah Rukh Khan was also criticised for tampering with the Indian Army uniform for looking good on screen in the movie, Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2018 05:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).