After Amitabh Bachchan courted controversy over reports of him charging a hefty amount for singing the national anthem, the actor is in news once again. A filmmaker has filed a complaint against the actor accusing him of stretching the anthem beyond the stipulated 52-seconds.
Short-film maker Ullhas PR filed a complaint against the Bollywood megastar at Ashok Nagar police station, New Delhi, Monday.
The filmmaker in his complaint alleged that Big B violated the guidelines by taking more time to sing the national anthem before the India-Pakistan World Twenty 20 match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Saturday.
"Amitabh Bachchan sang the national anthem in 1 minute 10 seconds while the mandatory time is 52 seconds. One can take two or three seconds more or less while singing the national anthem but Amitabh crossed the mandated time limit," Ullhas told IANS.
Ullhas also said that instead of "Sindh" Big B used the word "Sindhu" while singing the anthem at the Eden Gardens.
On Sunday, there were reports that Amitabh charged a whopping Rs 4 crore to sing the national anthem during the match. However, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly later confirmed that Big B travelled to Kolkata on his own money.
"Mr Bachchan is one and only, a special person. I am eternally grateful to him. Can you imagine someone paying Rs 30 lakhs of his own pocket to perform? He booked his own flight, bought his own tickets and even paid the hotel bills. I literally begged him to take some money but he said that I am doing it for love and there is no question of money being involved," CAB president Sourav Ganguly was quoted as saying by Anandbazar Patrika, according to Hindustan Times.
