Mumbai: Filmmaker Prakash Jha on Tuesday said he had received a letter from an organisation called Dalit Suraksha Samiti at his Patna office opposing the casting of Saif Ali Khan as a Dalit in his upcoming film `Aarakshan`.
Jha said the letter, received three weeks ago, vehemently opposed the casting of Saif in the film.
"The reason for their opposition was Saif`s background...
because he is of Muslim royal lineage. According to the organisation, this disqualifies him from being allowed to play a Dalit character," the filmmaker said.
Jha described their argument as absurd which totally goes against the spirit of freedom and equality.
"The letter they sent us did not have an address, it only stated that it was from Kanpur. How does one send them a reply without any address? So we thought it best to send them an open letter, and communicate to them through the media. I want them to understand that their opposition to the film is baseless," he said.