Mumbai (PTI): Superstar Aamir Khan's movie "Laal Singh Chaddha" has collected Rs 12 crore net on the first day of its release at the India box office.

Directed by Advait Chandan of Secret Superstar fame and adapted by noted actor Atul Kulkarni, Laal Singh Chaddha is the official remake of the Tom Hanks-starrer Hollywood classic Forrest Gump (1994).

The Hindi adaptation revolves around the life of slow-witted but kind hearted man Laal (Khan) as he narrates the important events of his life, which coincides with the many iconic events from Indian history.

According to producers Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Laal Singh Chaddha has raised Rs 12 crore net (India).

Apart from Hindi, the film was released in Tamil and Telugu.

The movie also features Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh, Naga Chaitanya and Manav Vij in pivotal roles. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan and veteran actor Kamini Kaushal have guest appearances.

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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.

Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.

He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.

Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.

He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.

Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.

He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.