SC rejects plea for cutting scenes depicting Sati from 'Padmavat'
New Delhi
April 23, 2018
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the plea for the
chopping of the scenes from "Padmavat" which were eulogizing 'Sati' and would
adversely impact the viewers of the film.
Rejecting the plea by
petitioner, Swami Agnivesh, the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M.
Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that once a film is given
certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), then there is
nothing that can constitute an offence.
The court said this as counsel
for Agnivesh sought registration of FIR against the producer and director of the
film as scenes eulogising were against law banning Sati.
Referring to the
novel "Devdas" by eminent Bengali classic novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay,
Chief Justice Misra said: "Read the book and see its celluloid version in which
veteran actor Dilip Kumar has performed the role of main character Devdas - who
turns alcoholic for the loss of love."
Noting that the writer was
critical of this character and never justified being alcoholic, he asked: "Has
any lover become alcoholic because of the film Devdas", while telling the lawyer
that he was "trying to make mountain out of trivial things".
As the
lawyer said that some of his friends have become alcoholic, Justice Khanwilkar
said: "Sir, you keep bad company."
"Padmavat" which saw a lot of protests
and resistance before its release, which saw the top court's intervention, was a
roaring success at the box office. Featuring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and
Shahid Kapoor, it was filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's take on 16th century
Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem "Padmavat".
New Delhi
April 23, 2018
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the plea for the
chopping of the scenes from "Padmavat" which were eulogizing 'Sati' and would
adversely impact the viewers of the film.
Rejecting the plea by
petitioner, Swami Agnivesh, the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M.
Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that once a film is given
certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), then there is
nothing that can constitute an offence.
The court said this as counsel
for Agnivesh sought registration of FIR against the producer and director of the
film as scenes eulogising were against law banning Sati.
Referring to the
novel "Devdas" by eminent Bengali classic novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay,
Chief Justice Misra said: "Read the book and see its celluloid version in which
veteran actor Dilip Kumar has performed the role of main character Devdas - who
turns alcoholic for the loss of love."
Noting that the writer was
critical of this character and never justified being alcoholic, he asked: "Has
any lover become alcoholic because of the film Devdas", while telling the lawyer
that he was "trying to make mountain out of trivial things".
As the
lawyer said that some of his friends have become alcoholic, Justice Khanwilkar
said: "Sir, you keep bad company."
"Padmavat" which saw a lot of protests
and resistance before its release, which saw the top court's intervention, was a
roaring success at the box office. Featuring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and
Shahid Kapoor, it was filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's take on 16th century
Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem "Padmavat".
Tags: Sanjay Leela BhansaliDeepika PadukoneRanveer SinghShahid KapoorPadmaavat