Court dismisses plea to ban ‘Bajirao-Mastani’

A local court has quashed a petition seeking a ban on producer-director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s historical film Bajirao Mastani.

Following a raging online campaign by a descendant of Peshwa Bajirao, a city resident earlier this week filed the plea seeking an injunction on the release of the film under Section 91 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), claiming that the film-makers had distorted history.

Contention

The film, scheduled for release on December 18, would affect the sentiments of the people, the petitioner has said.

Dismissing the plea, Judge S.S. Gulhane said the plaintiff could approach an ‘appropriate’ authority such as the Censor Board which had the right to decide on “obscenity, vulgarity or alleged distortion of facts” in feature films.

‘Not a public nuisance’

The court observed that the production of a film could not be termed ‘a public nuisance’ on grounds that it was affecting the sentiments of a particular class.

“It is the Censor Board’s duty in its capacity as a government-appointed agency, to check ‘hazardous’ elements in a film. Since this movie has already been passed by the Board, the applicants, in this case, can only approach the authority concerned with any grievances about the film. The suit is not maintainable under Section 9 of the CPC, hence, the application is rejected.”

Case against Bhansali, cast

Firoze Mohammad Shaikh filed the case against Mr. Bhansali and cast members, Priyanka and Deepika, who essay the roles of Kashibai, the Peshwa’s first wife and that of Mastani respectively.

The petition took strong objection to the song ‘Pingaa’ alleging that it incorrectly portrayed the characters of Kashibai and Mastani and was offensive to Marathi women and culture.

Judge says plaintiff could approach an ‘appropriate’ authority such as the Censor Board

Sources: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/court-dismisses-plea-to-ban-bajiraomastani/article7925375.ece?css=print