Bombay HC refuses to stay Oct 26 release of Saif-starrer Bazaar

A Pune-based non-governmental organisation has approached the HC complaining about the purported wrong use of a word – “Michhami Dukhdum” – used widely in the Jain community on the last day of Paryushana, the most important annual holy event of the Jain calendar.

The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday refused to stay the release of forthcoming Hindi film, Bazaar, starring Saif Ali Khan, scheduled to be released on Friday, October 26.

Bazaar is scheduled to be released on Friday, October 26.

A division bench of acting chief justice Naresh Patil and justice Girish Kulkarni refused to interfere with the scheduled release of the film after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by a Pune-based non-governmental organisation, Association for Aiding Justice.

The organisation has approached the HC complaining about the purported wrong use of a word – “Michhami Dukhdum” – used widely in the Jain community on the last day of Paryushana, the most important annual holy event of the Jain calendar.

The term is used to seek forgiveness and to mean: “If I have offended you in any way, knowingly or unknowingly, in thought, word or deed, then I seek your forgiveness.”

The petitioner body complained that the use of the term, after a high-voltage boardroom drama shown in the film, hurts feelings of the minority community and therefore urged to stay the release of the film.

Advocate Dipak Siroya, who represented the petitioners, argued that the wrong use of the term made a mockery of the entire Jain community.

Senior advocate VR Dhond, who represented the film distributor, pointed out that the entire PIL was based on the official trailer of the film, which was released on September 25, but the PIL was filed only on October 12.

He submitted that use of the term was in a jocular manner and the producers of the movie did not intend to offend the minority community.