Several netizens have called for the boycott of a 'trailer' of a Shah Rukh Khan film titled, Pathan, which has reportedly not even begun filming yet. The videos that have been 'disliked' on YouTube are fan-made trailers compiling clips of the actor and other footage.
Lawyer Prashant Patel Umrao in a tweet urged netizens to 'dislike' and report Pathan's trailer. The film's crew is yet to begin shooting.
Patel's tweet reads, "Have you disliked and reported Khan Gang's film Pathan's trailer?" The tweet can be viewed below and its archive here. The lawyer has been called out several times in the past for tweeting communally-charged misinformation.
BOOM reached out to an associate of Red Chillies Entertainment, Khan's production house, who ruled out the launch of any such trailer.
The tweets and Facebook posts calling for Pathan's boycott are viral in the backdrop of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the debate around nepotism in the film industry. The actor was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14. The Mumbai police prima facie ruled the death as a case of suicide.
Following his death netizens have also come down heavily on actors belonging to 'film families' and urged boycotting films starring them. Mahesh Bhatt's comeback film Sadak 2's trailer, starring Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur, has been disliked almost 11 million times on YouTube, after aggressive campaigns were run on social media.
A similar boycott for the non-existent Pathan's trailer is also doing the rounds on Facebook.
Pathan to go on floors later this year
According to a website covering Bollywood news, Shah Rukh is supposed to star in the tentatively titled 'Pathan' in a titular role. The film will be directed by filmmaker Siddharth Anand, who has earlier directed War and Khan will be paired opposite actor Deepika Padukone.
The film will be part of the Yash Raj Films Project 50. The report further stated that the film is likely to go on floors in November and is currently in the pre-production stage. BOOM reached out to Anand, who declined to comment.
We also reached out to an associate in the Red Chillies Entertainment who rubbished claims of any trailer being launched of Pathan. "There is no trailer of such a film that has been launched. It is fake news."
Pathan's 'Concept' Trailer Launched
We further found several concept trailers launched by Shah Rukh Khan's fans, piecing together scenes of films that Khan was earlier part of and images with a voiceover announcing the film.
One such trailer was uploaded by a user named Universal Film Studios. It has over 2.5 lakh views. The trailer has been disliked over 53,000 times, several times more than the likes, which is 2300 times. In the description section, the YouTube channel clarified that it is a fan-made trailer featuring a mash-up of scenes from Khan's film Raees.
In another video, titled "Pathan Movie, Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Siddharth Anand, YRF, Pathan Movie Trailer," a voiceover announces Khan signing the film Pathan. Viewed 1.9 lakh times, the film has been disliked more than 10,000 times.