KATHMANDU: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s ‘Da-Bangg – The Tour’ show in Kathmandu, which was scheduled to be held on March 10, has been called off due to security concerns following opposition to the event from a Maoist party, reported The Hindustan Times.
The show’s organisers said the show was called off because of a “threat” from the cultural wing of the CPN- Maoist, a splinter faction of the CPN-Maoist Center led by Netra Bikram Chand ‘Biplav’.
Other Bollywood stars such as Sonakshi Sinha, Kriti Sanon, Prabhudheva, Daisy Shah, Meet Bros and Manish Paul were also scheduled to join Salman at the show in Tundikhel in the heart of Kathmandu.
The organisers of the event said, “The event has been postponed for now and we plan to organise the event in mid-April. Please keep your tickets safe. Those who have already bought the ticket will be granted entry to the event.”
Gurung said the new date for the event will be fixed after talks with Salman. The CPN-Maoist had last week demanded the cancellation of the show and called on all “nationalist forces” to unite and oppose the event, saying it amounted to “expansion of cultural intervention on Nepali soil”.
“We know he (Salman) is popular but any kind of cultural attack is not acceptable,” said a statement from the party’s culture wing.
The CPN- Maoist also attacked the sponsors of the show, most of them liquor brands. “In a way, the programme is also promoting liquor which is not acceptable to us. We are against all kinds of globalisation bids,” the statement said.
Some top Nepalese artists and 110 singers and dancers from Bollywood were also expected to be part of the show. An audience of 30,000 was expected and the tickets were priced from Nepalese Rs 3,000 to Rs 30,000. The cost of organising the show was reportedly Nepalese Rs 50 million.
Da-Bangg – The Tour kicked off last year and has already made its way to several cities around the world, including Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, London and Birmingham.
Nepal’s media had given wide coverage to the event and Salman was scheduled to tour Kathmandu Valley and take a flight over Mount Everest during his visit.
