Censorship is not an alien concept. From movies beings screened to filter out unsavoury moments, to some films and shows being banned altogether - it has been a long-held practice. This however does not always apply to videos that are released on OTT platforms.
But if the Maharashtra Government has its way, an upcoming movie may never be seen by the populace. On Wednesday, the Maharashtra Home Department wrote to the Central government with a request to stop screening of the film "Muhammad: The Messenger of God".
The film is incidentally slated for release on a digital platform on July 21.
"Maharashtra Government has received complaint from RATA ACADEMY to ban the movie," a letter by Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said. Citing the complaint put forth by the Raza Academy, he said that the movie would "severely hurt the sentiments" and be considered "blasphemous by a particular community".
"The movie can potentially disturb the religious sentiments of citizens in the country and may cause religious tensions creating law and order problems in the country," he wrote.
While the move has been met with approval from a few netizens, most have been critical of the Maharashtra government's efforts.
"The movie is made by a Muslim filmmaker and it ran without any problem in Iran, an Islamic country. But obviously, secularism in India means being more Islamic than any other country," wrote one Twitter user.
Many also wondered how other films that had been criticised by othe communities were allowed to play in spite of it.
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