Actor Ranveer Singh has been booked on charges of "insult to religious sentiments" during a public event, police said on Thursday.
The “Dhurandhar” star was booked under Sections 196, 299 and 302 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 by the High Grounds police on Wednesday after Bengaluru-based lawyer Prashanth Methal (46) filed a complaint.
An Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACJM) court referred the private complaint for investigation.
According to the complaint, the incident happened during the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa on November 28, 2025.
The complainant alleged that Ranveer, while present on stage and in the presence of the lead actor of “Kantara: Chapter-1”, performed acts that mocked and insulted the sacred Bhoota Kola tradition practised in Coastal Karnataka.
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The complainant said he is a devotee of 'Chavundi Daiva', a revered guardian spirit worshipped in Bhoota Kola rituals, and that the deity is also his family deity, which he has worshipped since childhood.
He alleged that the actor imitated the divine expressions of Panjurli/ Guliga Daiva in a "crude, comical and derogatory manner" and verbally referred to the sacred Chavundi Daiva as a "female ghost". Despite an alleged request not to perform the Daiva act, the accused enacted an emotional Chavundi Daiva scene from 'Kantara: Chapter 1' on stage, the lawyer said.
"Chavundi Daiva is not a female ghost but a powerful and fierce guardian spirit symbolising justice, protection, and divine feminine energy, and holds deep religious and cultural significance in the coastal region," Methal said in his complaint.
Referring to the deity as a ghost was described in the complaint as "blasphemous and a serious insult to Hindu religious beliefs and practices". The complainant alleged that the accused, being a widely followed public figure, performed the act on an international platform with knowledge that it would hurt religious sentiments.
The complaint stated that a video of the alleged performance went viral on social media, causing mental agony, anger and resentment among devotees.
The complainant said he became aware of the incident after viewing the video on social media.
"The act of the accused was deliberate, intentional and malicious, intended to outrage religious feelings," the complainant alleged.
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