MSF to take legal action against Phantom
NEW DELHI: International charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is taking legal action against the producers of Bollywood film Phantom, saying its misrepresentation of the medical group could put its aid workers in conflict zones at risk.
The action-thriller features British-Indian actress Katrina Kaif playing a role she has described as an MSF aid worker who helps a disgraced Indian soldier, played by actor Saif Ali Khan, to assassinate Pakistani militants accused of being behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
In recent interviews, Kaif was quoted as saying, "NGO workers have ties with local fanatical groups" in war-torn regions, without mentioning that many aid groups maintain strict neutrality in order to do their work safely.
In the film's trailer, her character is seen firing a pistol and rifle in two different scenes. MSF said it had not been consulted over the film’s content and was not associated with it in any way. The humanitarian agency had "a strict no guns policy" in all its clinics and did not employ armed guards, it added.
"None of our staff would ever carry a gun. Any portrayal that suggests otherwise is dangerous, misleading and wrong," MSF said in a statement late on August 27.