Narottam Mishra was the Home Minister of one of the 28 states, but he nonetheless regularly made national headlines when he focused on Bollywood and TV serials as a subject of scrutiny. It was almost three years ago, when Shivraj Singh Chouhan was in power in Madhya Pradesh. This week, the BJP leader cried after being denied a ticket to contest the entire election.
Mishra is a six-time MLA Madhya Pradesh, having won three times from Datia. He was Home Minister in the Chouhan government and was constantly in the headlines for speaking out against Bollywood films which he felt went against the BJP’s ideology or ‘national interest’.
Informal “oversight board”.
Mishra served as Deputy Home Minister and State Government Spokesperson from 2020 to 2023.
During this time, he frequently censored promotional materials, trailers, and songs, and threatened legal action, bans, or policy changes over content he deemed offensive to Hindu culture or “sanatan dharma.”
When the Bobby Deol-starring web series “Ashram” premiered for its third season in October 2021, Mishra wondered why “only directors dare to make films targeting Hinduism”. Just two months later, he made headlines again, alleging that the music video of Sunny Leone’s song “Madhuban mein Radhika naache” showed “obscene” choreography with lyrics reverencing Goddess Radha, thus “insulting Hindu sentiments”. He accused the creators of deliberately targeting Hindu iconography.
Mishra threatened to take legal action against the filmmakers and actors whenever he deemed something offensive. More often than not, the results were in his favor as the filmmakers cut scenes or apologized.
In October 2022, Aamir Khan was in the crosshairs when he appeared in a bank commercial with Kiara Advani, which showed the groom moving into the bride’s house after marriage to take care of her ailing father. This angered Mishra, who described it as a “direct attack on Indian traditions and customs.” He issued a public warning, calling on Aamir Khan to stay away from ads that “play on religious beliefs”, sparking a backlash on social media against the brand as well.
Around the same time, he also took on the makers of “Adipurush”, a remake of the Hindu epic Ramayana, after critics were dissatisfied with the visual representation of the characters.
Narottam Mishra targeted director Om Raut and described the depiction of Hindu deities in the film as “unacceptable”. He explicitly pointed out that the character of Lord Hanuman was wrongly depicted “wearing skin”. The director received an official warning, with the then Minister of Interior threatening to take direct legal action in the state if the scenes were not removed or corrected.
Even fashion colors face Mishra’s wrath at times, the most notable example being the color of the bikini worn by Deepika Padukone in the song ‘Besharam Rang’ in the Shah Rukh Khan-led film ‘Pathan’ in December 2022. He took great offense at the color choice and publicly called the video ‘obscene’, alleging that the song was shot with a ‘dirty mindset’. He specifically targeted Padukone, describing her as a supporter of the “Tukdi Tukdi gang” in reference to her visit to the National Unity University during the anti-CAA protests in early 2020.
Not even a ticket now
Narottam Mishra lost the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections to Datia even as the BJP retained power. Shivraj Chouhan was recalled to the Center and appointed Union Agriculture Minister. Mohan Yadav became CM.
This year, a bypoll was announced in Datia after Congress MLA, Rajendra Bharti, was convicted in a fraud case.
Mishra thought this would be his return to the Assembly, but the party gave the ticket to Ashutosh Tiwari instead.
This led to violence in the area, with Mishra’s supporters blocking a highway and clashing with police. He later denied speculation about discontent, but on Monday he was seen crying at Tiwari’s nomination rally.
Why was the ticket dismissed?
The state BJP unit has given Narottam Mishra’s name as its only recommendation for the Datia poll on July 30 after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav met senior party leaders on July 6, PTI quoted sources as saying. The report added that feedback from the central leadership in New Delhi indicated that Mishra’s electoral position was not as strong as initially assessed.
Party insiders also claimed that Mishra, a six-time MLA, could have emerged as another powerhouse in the state if he had won the by-election and returned to the cabinet.
When asked whether the comments of the organization or the Prime Minister were behind the rejection of the ticket, Mishra said he would not blame anyone.
“There must have been some shortcomings in me,” he said. “Now, I will become an introvert.”
