A Nepal court on Thursday (June 22) reportedly lifted the ban on Hindi films, including Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan's latest and controversial film Adipurush. The court also asked the authorities not to halt the screening of any film passed by the country's censor board.
A few days back, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah had announced ban on all Hindi films because of a dialogue of Adipurush, in which Sita is mentioned as India's daughter.
Nepal Court Lifts Ban On Adipurush
However, soon after the court lifted the ban, the Mayor said he is ready to face any punishment but will not allow the film's screening as the matter pertains to Nepal's sovereignty and independence.
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According to a report in PTI, Bhaskar Dhungana, president of the Nepal Motion Picture Association, told media persons that the petitioners are waiting for a written order from the court. "We will screen all movies passed by the censor board," he said.
Sita, also referred to as Janaki, is believed by many to have been born in Janakpur in southeast Nepal.
In a social media post, Shah had said that he would not "abide by the court's order".
"The film's writer said that Nepal was under India, this clearly shows India's ill intention. To term this as a stunt by the Nepal government and to issue an order by the court in favour of screening the movie means, to accept that Nepal was once under India's rule, the court and the government are both the slaves of India," he said in the post.
"I am ready to face any punishment for this but the movie won't work and won't be allowed to run," he added.
Following Kathmandu Mayor's decision to ban Adipurush in Kathmandu, Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang and Pokhara Mayor also followed the suit, which ultimately led to halting of the screening of the film across Nepal.
A couple of days back, the makers of the film, T-Series, issued an apology, addressing Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah.
Makers Issue Apology
The letter read, “At the outset, we would like to apologise if we have hurt the sentiments of the people of Nepal in any way. It was never intentional or deliberate to cause any disharmony for anyone. The dialogue spoken by Mr. Prabhas, portraying the character of Shri Raghav, 'aaj mere liye mat ladna, us din ke liye ladna jab Bharat ki kisi beti par haath dalne se pehle durachari tumhara paurush yaad karke thraa uthega' has no reference to the birthplace of Sita Mata but refers to, in general, the dignity of all women particularly the women of "Bharat".
It further stated, “Having said that, as Indians, the respect of women all over the world is of utmost importance to us. We request you to view the film in its artistic form and support the intention of reaching out to a larger audience to create interest in our history."
Produced by T-Series, Retrophiles, and UV Creations, the film stars Prabhas as Lord Ram, Kriti Sanon as Sita Maa, Saif Ali Khan as Ravan, Sunny Singh as Lakshman and Devdutta Nage as Lord Hanuman.
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