Maintain peace after Ayodhya verdict, urges Bollywood

MUMBAI - Bollywood actors Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor Thursday came together with several other Bollywood celebrities to urge the people of the country to maintain peace and harmony once the Ayodhya verdict is out.

“We are known for our unity. If you disagree with the verdict please don’t resort to violence. There are peaceful methods to resolve it. Please maintain peace and order,” Ranbir said at a press conference Thursday.

Priyanka said: “Whatever may be the verdict, we should maintain peace and harmony as it is a very important day for India.”

The release of their “Anjaana Anjaani” had been postponed from Friday to Oct 1 in view of the verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi title suit case that the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court was due to deliver on that day.

The Supreme Court Thursday deferred this till Sep 28.

Ranbir and Priyanka were joined by actors Farhan Akhtar, Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Sophie Choudhary, filmmakers Madhur Bhandarkar and Sajid Khan and producers Sajid Nadiadwala and Ritesh Sidhwani.

In his appeal, Farhan said: “We should stay together and shouldn’t let down the reputation of our country. The media should report responsibly and should not sensationalise anything.”

Additional Police Commissioner (Mumbai-West) Amitabh Gupte was also present at the press conference.

He said: “On behalf of the Mumbai police, I am thankful to the film industry as they have come forward for this cause. On behalf of the Mumbai police, I would request Maharashtra and the rest of India to maintain the law and order after the verdict.”