'Chhapaak': Religion of acid attacker changed from Muslim to Hindu?

Some Twitter users have claimed that the name of the acid attack perpetrator was changed in Chhapaak to Rajesh, commonly a Hindu name, in a bid to defame Hindus.

The film is based on the true story of Laxmi Agarwal, who was attacked with acid in 2005 as a minor by a man named Naeem Khan alias Guddu.

Terming the alleged name change "defamation," BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said an advocate, Ishkaran Singh Bhandari, is drafting a legal notice against Padukone and Chhapaak's producers.

Bhandari said he has directed his office to find out the name used for the acid attack perpetrator in the film.

He threatened the film with legal notice if the perpetrator's name is that of a different religion.

However, Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri, who has watched the premiere of Chhapaak, clarified that the film makes no such change.

Sekhri wrote on Twitter, "I watched the screening last night and can tell you with certainty the religion of attacker has not changed. The film has remained accurate to the case."

He added, "Shocking (or maybe not) that such demonstrable misinformation is carried."

Padukone briefly attended a JNU protest on Tuesday in support of students brutalized in an attack by masked goons. The attack was claimed by a far-right Hindu outfit.

Right-wing trolls have since attacked Padukone, calling to boycott Chhapaak.

BJP's Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Bagga also popularized the #TanhajiChallenge, a give-away of free tickets to the screening of Tanhaji, which releases the same day as Chhapaak.