Hrishikesh Joshi says he's very embarrassed; claims the poster showing him with alcohol was meant to be used for the shoot of his upcoming film
Gatari Amavasya, the no-moon night considered to be the last day for meat eaters to turn vegetarian in preparation of the holy month of Shravan begins today. It has blown up into a controversy with a Marathi actor heralding the period with a hoarding, where he is pictured with alcohol.
Poor show: Actor Hrishikesh Joshi (above), who is in reality a teetoaller, is pictured in this poster as a politician heralding Shravan with alcohol. Pics/Krunal Gosavi
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In the past four to five days, social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Watsapp and BB have been taken by storm with the photograph of the actor with alcohol bottles, glass and meat. Not only did the picture go viral, but also actor Hrishikesh Joshi and the crew of his new film have been flooded with calls and messages, some even from abroad on this controversial gesture.
Sounding embarrassed, Joshi, said “Since last week, I have been getting calls about this. I realised the picture was being circulated on the Internet and I was shocked. This is a case of misuse of a photograph of a public figure. The image is from my new movie where my character is an upcoming politician and a goon. The hoarding is just for publicity, and meant to be seen only on film.”
He continues, “Some background check should have been done before it was shared. That is what is ethical. I don’t consume alcohol myself, and this incident has been a headache. People should take permission before sharing photos on the Internet.”
The film’s director Aditya Ingle said, “We put up the hoarding at Pratham Studio at Kondhwa. We have a film sequence that involves this poster. But, before we were done with our shoot, we noticed someone clicking a picture of the poster, which was at the gate of the studio. It has been circulated all over the Internet and outside the country too. We first got to know about this when our lyricist’s wife received it from her friend in Muscat.”
He adde, “Then we had friends calling us from Nigeria and Dubai whether it is a publicity stunt. This actor is known for good behaviour, and this occurrence has tarnished his image. Two days ago I received a call from a friend who said that this photo has been printed and put as a banner in Vasai. This is offensive to Joshi’s image.”
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