Nepalese Riot Over Alleged Slur by Indian Film Star

Protesters angry about alleged anti-Nepal comments by South Asia’s latest movie heartthrob rushed the streets of Nepal’s capital Wednesday, setting tires and trees ablaze and virtually shutting down the city.

A day after rioting left four people dead, public transportation was halted in Katmandu, the Himalayan nation’s capital, and only police, firefighters and ambulances were allowed out on the smoke-filled streets. Indian businesses were vandalized, and windows at the State Bank of India were smashed.

Schools and businesses were closed as the demonstrators, many of them university students, spilled out into the streets setting fires. There were no reported injuries.

The rioting here began Tuesday, when a rumor swept through southern Nepal that Indian film star Hrithik Roshan had told an interviewer that he hated Nepal and its people.

Roshan vehemently denied making such comments, and the only television network that has carried an extensive interview with the hugely popular star backed him up. Nevertheless, the unrest spread.

Nepalese Communications Minister Jaya Prakash Gupta said the government had asked movie theaters across the country to stop screening Roshan films to prevent further attacks. Cable operators also cut Indian television channels, fearing violence.

Roshan shot to fame last year with the release of his first film, “Say This Is Love.” Though two of his films this year haven’t done as well, the hysteria generated by the first film has sustained his popularity.

On Wednesday, he denied making comments against Nepal.

“This is completely unfounded and baseless,” Roshan said in a telephone interview. “Things have taken a very tragic turn, and I feel deep remorse for the families of the people who have been killed. But I cannot be held responsible.”

Roshan said he had given few television interviews in his short career and challenged his detractors to name the interview in which he supposedly said he despised Nepal.

“My only message to the Nepalese people is that I love them just like I love India and Indian people,” he said.

About 180 people were injured in Tuesday’s rioting, including 30 police officers who tried to stop a crowd of 5,000 protesters from tearing down a movie theater where Roshan’s latest film, “Mission Kashmir,” was being shown.

Police initially fired into the air, but when the crowd began to pelt them with stones, they opened fire into the throng. Among the dead was a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was hit by a stray bullet as she sat in her room reading, police said.

The demonstrators in Katmandu said Wednesday that none of them knew anyone who had actually heard the supposed remarks by Roshan.