SUNDAY, April 6, (News Locale) - Amitabh Bachchan is a troubled man indeed. The actor has been falling into one controversy after another with the latest being a stinging editorial in Shiv Sena's mouthpiece, Samna which has questioned Bachchan's willingness to fight for Marathi values. 

Praising Rajnikant's stand against his home state in the Hogenakkal project row, the article said that the Tamil superstar was a bigger star than Bachchan as he has sided with the state that has given him name and fame rather than supporting his home state Karnataka.

"He won acclaim and success in Tamil Nadu. In the on-going Tamil Nadu-Karnataka crisis on Hogenakkal, he has reposed his faith and loyalty in his 'karma-bhoomi'. In doing so, Rajnikant has dwarfed many, including superstar Amitabh Bachchan", the article wrote.

The article went on to say that the gesture proved that Rajnikant was loyal to his adopted state and compared it with others by saying that a number of actors, including Bachchan, fail to support the Marathi cause when it was most needed.

When questioned, a peeved Bachchan shot back saying "No one needs to question what I have done for Mumbai, for I know what I have done."

It is the first time that the paper has criticized Bachchan who is a close friend of Bal Thackeray. The Sena supremo was quick to release a statement attributing the article to news agencies and saying that it did not mirror Thackeray's views.

"Amitabh Bachchan is our family friend. I have neither said anything against him nor written against him in the editorial. The hue and cry which has been created by the media regarding the news in Saamna is condemnable. Our relations with Amitabh are not so weak that it can be broken by electronic media news", the statement read.