Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan and celebrity stylist Rhea Kapoor have been served a legal notice by Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesperson Abbas Hafeez over a pendant bearing a Quranic verse that the actor wore as part of her Diwali look.
The notice, dated November 11, objects to the manner in which the sacred inscription, Ayat-ul-Kursi, was presented in photographs shared on social media. Abbas Hafeez has alleged that displaying the Quranic verse as a fashion accessory in the manner shown could hurt religious sentiments.
The controversy arose after Kareena Kapoor shared photographs of her Diwali attire, comprising a beige kaftan and matching turban, paired with a 30-carat emerald pendant. The jewellery is said to be a 200-year-old heirloom belonging to the Begum of Bhopal and is engraved with Ayat-ul-Kursi, the 255th verse of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Rhea Kapoor, who styled the actor, had described the jewellery as an heirloom of the erstwhile Bhopal royal family, passed down through Kareena’s husband Saif Ali Khan’s family.
In the legal notice, Abbas Hafeez has clarified that his objection is not to Kareena’s clothing, personal choices or freedom to wear jewellery, but specifically to the manner in which a sacred Quranic inscription was presented.
He has sought the removal of the photographs and videos featuring the pendant from social media platforms, an unconditional public apology to the Muslim community and an assurance that the inscription would not be presented in a manner compromising its religious sanctity.