Bollywood Star Shah Rukh Khan Faces Threat At Hockey World Cup

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan may face protests when he joins the inauguration of the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar in India's Odisha state on Wednesday. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has invited the actor to attend the opening ceremony but a local group opposes Khan's presence because of his role in a 2001 movie about emperor Ashoka. The group calling itself ‘Kalinga Sena’ (Kalinga army), deriving its name from Odisha's ancient name, alleges the Bollywood star hurt people's sentiments in the movie ‘Ashoka’ that depicts Ashoka's career and his bloody conquest of Kalinga. "We have made preparation to throw ink on the actor's face and show him black flags at any place from the airport to the stadium. Our activists will remain present all along the road where Khan is likely to visit," Kalinga Sena said. The Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 will be held from Nov 28 to Dec 16. Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Spain are competing in the event. The Malaysian Tigers squad's opening match will be against three-time champion the Netherlands on Dec 1 in a Pool D match, before playing record four-time champion Pakistan four days later and two-time winner Germany on Dec 9. Malaysia eyes a top-10 finish in the 16-nation World Cup at Bhubaneswar, after having finished last at the 2014 edition at the Hague, the Netherlands, participated by 12 teams, while its best ever outing at the World Cup was a fourth-place finish when hosting the 1975 edition. -- BERNAMA