HC clears release of Annu Kapoor-starrer ‘Hamare Baarah’

MUMBAI: After facing a major setback due to a stay on its release, the Bombay high court on Friday cleared the film ‘Hamare Baarah’, starring Annu Kapoor after the producers agreed to delete two contentious dialogues that the petitioner claimed were “an incorrect depiction and distorted interpretation of the Quran

MUMBAI: After facing a major setback due to a stay on its release, the Bombay high court on Friday cleared the film ‘Hamare Baarah’, starring Annu Kapoor after the producers agreed to delete two contentious dialogues that the petitioner claimed were “an incorrect depiction and distorted interpretation of the Quran.”

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‘Hamare Baarah’ has been a topic of widespread discussion due to its narrative on overpopulation. The Karnataka government has temporarily banned the screening of ‘Hamare Baarah’ for two weeks due to objections from Muslim organisations.

The vacation bench of justice Kamal Khata and justice Rajesh Patil said the producers and other stakeholders in the film would be severely prejudiced if the release of the film was prohibited.

“We find equities are clearly in favour of the Respondent Nos 1 to 6 (producers and others associated with the film),” said the bench. “If an individual such as in this petition is permitted to stall the release of movies which have been duly certified by the CBFC it would encourage holding film producers to ransom,” it added.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Azhar Basha Tamboli, a resident of the Pune district, questioning certification granted to the film by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), claiming that the film was certified in complete contravention of provisions contained in the Cinematograph Act, 1952, concerned rules and guidelines and violated fundamental rights of the petitioner guaranteed under Articles 19(2) and 25 of the Constitution.

He also claimed that the dialogues and visuals reflected from the trailer of the movie were derogatory to the Islamic faith, married Muslim women in India and were based on a misreading of Qur’anic verses.

Acting on the petition, on June 5, another vacation bench had stayed the release of the movie which was scheduled to be exhibited in theatres across the country on Friday, though none appeared for the film producers on the date.

On June 6, after the producer approached the court and sought to recall the stay order, the vacation bench ordered the CBFC to form a 3-member panel to review the film and give an independent opinion about it. But, on Friday, advocate Advait Sethna tendered a “report” of the panel, merely seeking an extension of time to submit its comments.

Against this backdrop, as the release of the movie was being stalled, the producers agreed to delete the two dialogues to which objection was raised by the petitioner, said advocate Kavita N Solunke, who represented the state government in the matter.

She added that the producers, however, clarified that they “unambiguously and totally” disagreed with the petitioner’s contentions about the verses mentioned in the film and that the deletions were being carried out without prejudice to the rights and contentions.