Special court orders probe into charges of fraud against makers of Kaagaz
The order on Wednesday came after Lal Bihari Mritak, a farmer who struggled for 18 years to get corrected the official records in which he was declared dead, accused Satish Kaushik and Salman Khan of going back on the promise for his consent to the making of the film Kaagaz on his life
A special Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act court in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh has directed police to submit a report by March 30 into allegations of fraud against filmmaker Satish Kaushik and actor Salman Khan.
The order on Wednesday came after Lal Bihari Mritak, a farmer who struggled for 18 years to get corrected the official records in which he was declared dead in 1976, moved the court accusing the two of going back on the promises made to him for his consent to the making of the film Kaagaz on his life.
“Impressed by my life and story, Kaushik along with scriptwriter Imtiaz Hussain met me in 2003. After a long conversation, I gave them my consent for making the film on my life,” Mritak said. He said Kaushik did not keep his promise of narrating the movie script before filming it. Mritak added Kaushik promised to call the film Main Zinda Hu. “But he titled the movie Kaagaz. Kaushik did not take my permission to change the title.”
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Mritak said he is a respected farmer and a weaver but has been portrayed as a member of the Band Baja Party. “I have strong objection over it. Kaushik promised me that my name will remain the same in the film. But in the movie, my name has been changed and I have been shown as Bharat Lal Mritak. I have a strong objection over this too. Certain highly objectionable words have been used in the film. These words hurt my sentiments.”
Mritak said Kaushik cheated him by getting an agreement signed for his consent for making the movie. “As per promise, I gave consent to Kaushik to produce the film on my life and struggle. But the film’s producer is Salman Khan. That is why they did fraud with me.”
The makers of Kaagaz, which was released last month, were not immediately available for comments.
Mritak’s lawyer, Madan Mukund Rai, said a derogatory word has been used in the film against Dalits, which also hurt the sentiments of his client.