KAITHAL: Television actor Kiku Sharda, who has been arrested for mimicking self-styled godman and Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, on Wednesday said that he had merely followed the script given to him during his act, adding that his job was to entertain the people.
“I am an actor. I am told what to do, I am given a script and a get up and I act accordingly. I did not have any clue that my look would hurt religious sentiments. If such a thing has happened then I apologise for it,” he told reporters here.
“I do not want that my work hurts the sentiments of the people. I am in this industry for 13 years and my job is to make the people laugh. Whatever script was given to me I performed it,” he added.
The issue came to light after the December 27, 2015, episode of ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ was aired on television. This episode had Sharda mimic the Dera Sacha Sauda head, something which didn’t go down too well with his followers, leading them to file a police case against the actor.
The actor has been booked under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for outraging religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious belief.
Kiku, on the very next day of the episode, wrote an apology on his twitter handle saying, “Doston the act on TV was not to hurt anyone's feelings. My apologies to @Gurmeetramrahim ji and his followers. Let's spread happiness."