Police complaint filed against actor Prakash Raj for Chandrayaan-3 post
A complaint has been lodged against actor Prakash Raj at Banahatti police station in Bagalkot district in Karnataka by leaders of a Hindu organisation, said the police
Actor Prakash Raj's post on a joke related to India's mission to the moon has landed him in big trouble now.
The 58-year-old actor has now been booked for allegedly mocking 'Chandrayaan-3', India's ambitious lunar mission in a social media post. A complaint has been lodged at the Banahatti police station in Bagalkot district in Karnataka by the leaders of a Hindu organisation, said the police. The complainants have demanded action against him.
"A complaint has been filed against actor Prakash Raj for his post on the Chandrayaan-3 mission," police told reporters.
The seasoned actor had recently taken to microblogging platform X to share a caricature portraying a man in a shirt and lungi pouring tea in an exaggerated pose. Accompanying the image was his caption, "First view just arrived from Chandrayaan.. #VikramLander #justasking."
This post triggered a severe backlash for the actor as social media users slammed him for being insensitive and derogatory about the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which is the nation's pride. Users who probably did not understand the joke lashed out at him urging him to show more respect to the scientists responsible for India's historic mission.
Some users felt he was taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Are you so blind to your hatred of Modi, that you are mocking the hard work of our ISRO scientists...," said another user.
Responding to the uproar on social media, Prakash Raj clarified on X that he had been referring to a joke from the time of American astronaut Neil Armstrong, which celebrates 'our Kerala chaiwalla'.
He said in his defence on X, "Hate sees only Hate... I was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times celebrating our Kerala Chaiwala - which Chaiwala did the Trolls see? If you don't get a joke, then the joke is on you.. GROW UP #justasking." His joke was explained by another social media user who said the actor was referring to the enterprising nature of Keralites and how they are found all over the world. And, when Armstrong landed on the moon the first person he saw there was a Kerala chaiwalla.
Chandrayaan-3 schedule
Meanwhile, as per the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to make its lunar landing on August 23, approximately at 18.04 hours IST.
The live action of the Chandrayaan-3 mission will be accessible on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and the public broadcaster DD National TV starting from 17.27 IST on August 23, 2023.
India is set to become the fourth nation in the world to achieve this milestone, following the United States, Russia, and China. However, India will hold the distinction of being the sole country to achieve a lunar landing at its southern pole.
The launch of Chandrayaan-3 took place on July 14, 2023, via the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 2:35 pm. It has three primary objectives: to showcase a secure and gentle landing on the lunar surface, to demonstrate rover mobility on the moon, and to carry out on-site scientific experiments.
