New Delhi : The Union Government on Thursday barred the release tomorrow of controversial Punjabi film ‘Kaum De Heere,’ which has allegedly glorified Mrs Indira Gandhi’s assassins, citing apprehensions of law and order.
The decision was taken collectively by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the Home Ministry and the Central Board of Film Certification, after watching the movie.
“We saw the film and decided that it will not be released tomorrow,” CBFC Chairperson Leela Samson announced after a review of the movie.
The Censor Board decided to relook at the movie on the recommendation of the Home Ministry which feared that its screening may lead to communal disturbances in Punjab and other northern states. This assessment of the Ministry is understood to be based on the input of the Intelligence Bureau.
The Home Ministry had expressed reservation and serious concern over the contents of the film and asked the Information & Broadcasting Ministry to take a relook at the clearance given to it. One reason for this could be that there were serious allegations that the producers of the movie paid bribes to the censor board chief to get permission for its screening. Since a CBI investigation is on against the Censor Board CEO, I&B Ministry is fully competent to withdraw the censor clearance or stall the film’s release under the Cinematography Act.
The Punjab units of the Congress and the BJP have demanded a ban on the controversial film. The youth wing of the Congress party in Punjab has even written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointing out that the film portrays the two bodyguards of the former prime minister as heroes. The film’s producer, Pardeep Ban-sal, however, said that the film is based on historical facts and on the findings of the Justice Thakkar Commission which had probed the assassination.
‘‘It is a completely balanced film wherein no religion or sect has been belittled. Some people are unnecessarily trying to create a controversy without watching the movie,” he said. Director Ravinder Ravi has defended his film, saying it has “no heroes or villains.”
The Censor Board had passed the film with an ‘A’ certificate and it was scheduled to be released tomorrow in more than 100 cinema halls in north India.
Kaum De Heere,” or “Diamonds of The Community,” tells the story of Mrs Gandhi’s Sikh bodyguards who shot her to avenge Operation Bluestar which saw soldiers entering the Golden Temple, Sikhs’ most holy shrine, to flush out militants holed up there.
One of Mrs Gandhi’s bodyguards, Beant Singh, was killed by the police shortly after the murder, while the other, Satwant Singh, was later hanged.
