Pawan Kalyan's image morphed on currency note

A picture of a Rs 50 note bearing the morphed image of Pawan Kalyan superimposed in place of Mahatma Gandhi, that has been circulated online for the last couple of days, has kicked up quite a furore offline as well. Two Hyderabad-based lawyers have lodged a police complaint at the LB Nagar Police Station on Wednesday.
The picture, believed to be a work of the Power Star���s over enthusiastic fans, also bears a tag line which reads, ���If Pawan Kalyan would have been born 50 years ago, his image would have been in Gandhi���s place (sic).��� The complainants claimed, ���The picture is blasphemous.To appropriate a movie star with Mahatma Gandhi is unacceptable and we demand that the picture be removed from all the websites immediately and punish those responsible for the act to be punished including Pawan Kalyan.���
Lawyers, however, confirm that the Power Star is not liable for punishment ���if it has been done without his consent���. Says city lawyer Balaji, ���If the morphed note was done with Pawan���s consent, he is liable for punishment, but not otherwise. However, the person who has done this can face charges.���
The police meanwhile, are figuring out the nature of the crime. The police have ���acknowledged��� the complaint and are seeking a legal opinion before filing an official FIR. ���We are seeking a legal opinion on the criminal culpability and are also trying to find out who is responsible for it before lodging a case.We also need to ascertain if there was a malicious intent behind the dissemination of the currency note. Once that���s ascertained, we will dwell on the future course of action within one week,��� confirmed P Vishwa Prasad, IPS DCP, LB Nagar.
Interestingly, this isn���t the first time that a celebrity���s picture has been morphed onto an Indian currency note. Fans of other celebs too have done it in the past ��� some to hilarious effect and some just as a mark of adoration. A `100 note with Sachin Tendulkar���s face juxtaposed similarly had become quite popular during the 2011 World Cup after the former India batsman scored his 99th international century against South Africa in the same tournament. The currency note was also displayed on advertising hoardings. Similarly, Superstar Rajinikanth���s pictures was morphed on a Rs 50 crore note! In the past Brahmanandam���s picture was morphed on a $100 note in place of Benjamin Franklin. But there have been no cases slapped in those instances.
Among Telugu cinema fans morphing pictures of Tollywood stars is nothing new. Actor Balakrishna���s pictures have also been morphed into caricatures many a times in the past. Memes of comedian Brahmanandam morphed onto popular English movie posters, popular world leaders like Barrack Obama, Vivekananda, Abdul Kalam etc., are a big hit among the fans. Brahmanandam had issued a public statement requesting fans to desist from doing similar things in the past. ���Don���t use my image to embarrass others,��� he���d stated. However, Pawan Kalyan isn���t likely to issue any clarification inform sources close to the actor who reckon the complaint was ���politically motivated���.