Sikh leaders want ‘Kaur’ - a name used by Sikh women as either a middle or last name - dropped from the title of porn-star-turned-Bollywood actress Sunny Leone’s upcoming biopic.

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa has asked the film’s producer Subhash Chandra to remove the word or face protests. Chandra is chairman of Essel Group and is also a Rajya Sabha MP.

The web series titled ‘Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story of Sunny Leone’ was scheduled for premiere on Zee5 on 16 July.

Sirsa told The Times of India that “to use it (Kaur) for publicity stunt and depict the porn life of a celebrity is derogatory for Sikhs across the world.”

In a letter to Chandra that Sirsa posted on his Twitter account, he says that the title has hurt the sentiments of the community. Sirsa explains his objection “We have no objection to Sunny Leone choosing her profession and getting a biopic made on her life but when she advanced in this profession under the name Sunny Leone, why Is Karenjit Kaur being used as title?”

“This smacks of a publicity stunt to garner more attention,” the latter says, threatening Chandra of protests outside his office against the “misuse of the surname Kaur.”

The Delhi committee is only the latest Sikhs group to protest the title. Earlier, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Istri Akali Dal president Bibi Jagir Kaur have demanded removal of the word ‘Kaur’ from the title.

SGPC additional secretary and spokesperson Daljit Singh Bedi told The Tribune, “Kaur is a pious surname designated for Sikh women by the Gurus. We will file a complaint with the makers of the series on Tuesday.”