Don't arrest 'Sarkar' director till Nov 27: HC to police
Chennai, Nov 9: The Madras High Court Friday restrained police from arresting director of Tamil film "Sarkar" A R Murugadoss till November 27 on complaints related to some scenes opposed by the ruling AIADMK in the state.
Justice G K Ilanthirayan passed the interim order on the anticipatory bail petition filed by Murugadoss, who apprehended arrest over complaints filed in connection with the "objectionable" scenes.
AIADMK workers staged protests against the film Thursday after several ministers took exception to scenes in the film criticising welfare schemes and a reference to late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.
When the petition came up for hearing, police informed the judge that only preliminary investigation was being conducted on the complaints against Murugadoss.
Certain scenes in the film, which show grinder, mixers and fans being burnt, have created law and order problem, they submitted.
Counsel for the petitioner contended that the protests by the AIADMK workers against the film which had been certified by the Censor Board was totally unlawful.
He also claimed that the director had dealt with "real problems" faced by the people and no viewer had objected to it.
The counsel also informed the judge that the objectionable portions had already been removed from the film.
The judge later adjourned the petition to November 27 for further hearing.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
