Kathmandu
Actor and producer Deepak Raj Giri has objected to comments being made about him on social media, expressing dissatisfaction over the editing of his past remarks and their presentation out of context.
Following the release of the nine-day box office report for the currently screening film Chha Maya Chhapakkai 2, various comments and videos about the film have been circulating on social media.
Some users have been sharing edited clips of Giri’s past remarks, claiming that the film has failed to perform as expected at the box office. The videos also appear to carry messages calling for a boycott of the film.
Giri has expressed his anger over the issue on social media. He clarified that his statement was not intended to encourage anyone to chase, beat or drive others away, but rather to suggest that disagreements should be expressed intellectually.
Recalling his remark, “It is not right to chase, beat or drive anyone away. If you disagree, you should challenge them intellectually,” Giri accused some extremist activists of misinterpreting his words by adding unrelated contexts and editing out portions of his statement. He said he was surprised to see social media content featuring his photograph alongside calls for a boycott.
In his post, Giri also criticised attempts to link ethnicity and extremism with politics to create social conflict. He argued that exploiting ethnic divisions and spreading hatred to serve political interests was wrong in a society like Nepal, which has nurtured tolerance for generations.
He said that art and culture, which bring people together, should not become tools for ethnic division. He added that he had always opposed the use of caste and religion to serve political interests and spread hatred, and that he would continue to stand by that position.
“I have always opposed, and will continue to oppose, bringing ethnicity into every issue, using extremism to create conflict in a society that has nurtured tolerance for generations to fulfil political ambitions, and spreading hatred by introducing caste divisions into the fields of art and culture,” he wrote.
At the end of his post, Giri reiterated his opposition to attempts to divide society by linking caste and religion with political interests, concluding with the words “Jai Nepal.”
