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This follows a petition by the Catholic Congress to join the case, arguing that the film depicts an inter-religious relationship supported by a bishop, which they claim hurts Christian sentiments and promotes “love jihad”. According to Bar and Bench, the court has scheduled the matter for October 21 to finalize the viewing arrangements and decide on whether the CBFC’s suggestions should be implemented or not.
The CBFC recommended several cuts and modifications to the film, including deletion of a scene of her eating beef biryani, blurring the name of an institution and removal of a song sequence where the lead actress is seen in Muslim attire.
The makers of the Shane Nigam starrer film have challenged the CBFC’s proposal to grant an ‘A’ (Adults Only) certificate to the film if it follows the censor body’s proposals to remove or modify certain parts of the film.
Additionally, the Catholic Congress of Thamarassery Diocese has now expressed protest over the release of the film and sought to intervene in the matter. The Christian body has filed an interlocutory application in the matter. After this, the court today allowed him to make himself a party.
It has objected to the alleged portrayal of Thamarassery Bishop in the film, which encourages an interfaith love story, which has been depicted without his approval. According to the prosecution application, Suba filed a complaint in this regard with the CBFC on October 3.
The Christian body has argued that the film is unsuitable for public telecast as it contains material that may hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community and disrupt communal harmony. It further claimed that the film encourages “love jihad” and portrays the Thamarassery Bishop as a supporter of such “objectionable matters”.
According to the application, such views violate Christian norms and have the potential to bring the bishop and diocese into disrepute.
“The content and plot of the film presents the concept of Love Jihad as an encouraging practice and portrays the Thamarassery Bishop as a supporter of such objectionable matters. I respectfully submit that if such scenes are allowed and the film is displayed in its present form it will hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community and disrupt the peace and harmony of the society…” Catholic Congress President said in the affidavit, Live Law reported.
Before the bench, the counsel representing the producers of Haal disputed such stance and claimed that the film does not portray any community or religious leader in an unfavorable light. “What is freedom of expression if such scenes are objected to? The recent issue is that when the father asks the girl to convert, the boy refuses, and later a bishop says that both should respect each other’s religions. How is the Christian community being vilified?” He noted.
The bench ultimately opted to watch the film before deciding on the subject.
Directed by debutant Veera, the upcoming film revolves around an interfaith love story between a Muslim boy and a Christian girl. Starring Sakshi Vaidya in the lead role, the film also stars Johnny Antony, Nishant Sagar, Madhupal and Joy Mathew in lead roles.