The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed the release of the Annu Kapoor-starrer Hamare Baarah movie on June 21, after the makers agreed to make certain changes in the movie and delete certain objectionable portions. The makers agreed to remove a dialogue and a Quranic verse, and put two disclaimers of 12 seconds each in the film.
The film, which was originally slated for release on June 7 and then on June 14, is likely to hit the screens on June 21.The movie’s release got delayed after it got embroiled in a legal battle after a batch of petitions were filed seeking ban on the film alleging that it distorted the Quran and was derogatory towards the Islamic faith and the Muslim community.
A bench of Justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla viewed the film and said that they found nothing objectionable in it which was against the Quran or the Muslim community that could incite violence. It had also said that the Indian public was “not gullible or silly”.
The bench, however, suggested certain changes to it which both the makers and the petitioners agreed to. On Wednesday, the parties submitted consent terms to the court stating that they have arrived at a consensus regarding removal of certain objectionable portions and dialogues in the movie.
The changes would include displaying of the disclaimer for 12 seconds to enable viewers to read the text and also inclusion of an extra verse from the Quran as sought by the petitioners. The petitioner agreed not to raise any objection to the release of the film after the agreed-upon changes are made to the movie.
The court then permitted the release of the movie after meaning necessary changes and getting a fresh certification from Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC). The HC also imposed a cost of Rs5 lakh on the makers of the movie for releasing the trailer before receiving certification from the CBFC.
The court has asked to donate within eight weeks of the film’s release to ‘Ideal Relief Committee Trust’ which will be used to provide reliefs to people in times of natural disasters. Initially, a vacation bench of the HC postponed the release of the movie from June 7 to June 14.
It later permitted release after the makers said they would delete the objectionable dialogues from the film as directed by the CBFC. The petitioners approached the Supreme Court which stayed the movie’s release and asked the HC to decide on the issue.
