Veteran actor Nawazuddin Siqqui was forced to opt out of a Ramleela play in his home town Muzaffarnagar after a group of local Shiv Sena members objected to actor's presence in the Hindu mythological play on grounds that he was a Mulsim.
On Wednesday night, minutes before Nawaz was to go on stage, around a dozen activists from the local unit of Shiv Sena asked the organisers to stop the performance because they were against 'a Muslim actor going on stage in a Ramlila. reported Times of India.
“We were really looking forward to his performance. Over 2,000 people had come (to see the show) here yesterday but a few hours before the show we were told he will not perform,” said Dharmendra Goyal who replaced Siddqui in the role of Mareech.
"In the 50-60 year history of the Budhana Ramlila, no Muslim artist has set foot on the stage. We couldn't allow that now. It's about tradition," Mukesh Sharma, the Shiv Sena's Muzaffarnagar vice president, told The Times of India.
Maricha is a demon who takes on the form of a deer to lure Ram away from his cottage, so that Ravan cam abduct Sita in her husband's absence.
Notably, the actor on Wednesday said that he would play the character of golden deer 'Maricha' in the programme held in his native village.
Disappointed over his ouster, Actor promised to play in Ramleela next year.
