Filmmaker and producer Ashoke Pandit’s Twitter account was suspended on Wednesday, June 14, after he issued a death threat to a Twitter user. The user, whose handle is @ArunSFan, had tweeted an article on former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s allegation that the Indian government had threatened to shut down the platform in the country during the farmer protests of 2021. Quoting the tweet, the now deleted tweet of Ashoke Pandit read, “Why are you doing Bhangra? Don’t worry, all demons like you will be killed!”
After the suspension of Ashoke’s Twitter account, several right-wing accounts have been expressing their support for the filmmaker and the hashtag #RestoreAshokePandit has been trending. Some of his supporters alleged that Ashoke’s Twitter account was suspended for promoting 72 Hoorain, a film co-produced by Ashoke. The film is directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhanand and is expected to hit the theatres on July 7. The film is said to be a dark comedy that looks at radicalisation of Muslim youth at an ‘extremist training facility’.
Ashoke Pandit currently serves as the president of Indian Film and Television Directors Association. He became popular for his TV show Filmi Chakkar and went on to direct more shows like Tere Mere Sapne and Colgate Top 10. He also co-produced The Accidental Prime Minister, which is about Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister. The filmmaker has made controversial statements earlier about Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid. Criticising the film Kashmir Files, Nadav had called it “vulgar propaganda”. In response, Ashoke said, “If I had a pistol in my hand, I would have shot him. When he said all these things on the stage, what were the other jury members doing? Why did they let him go?”
why @ashokepandit account is suspended by @TwitterIndia ? #RestoreAshokePandit
— Tejinder Pall Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) June 14, 2023
Ashoke Pandit's account was suspended for this tweet... #RestoreAshokePandit pic.twitter.com/eIzObfKoKE
— MJ (@MJ_007Club) June 14, 2023