The Bombay High Court on Wednesday has allowed the release of Annu Kapoor-starrer Hamare Baarah after the makers of the film have agreed to make certain changes in the movie. Hamare Baarah, which was earlier scheduled to hit cinemas on June 7, will now be released on June 21, 2024. A division bench of Justice BP Colabawalla and Justice Firdosh Pooniwalla passed the order in a writ petition seeking a ban on the film on the ground that it is derogatory to Islam and Muslims.
As per the high court orders, there are only 3 changes in the film, which include three dialogues which have been muted, rest of the film will remain the same. The Bombay High Court approved the release of the film Hamare Barah after the producers agreed to some changes in the film. The petitioners agreed not to object to the release after the changes were made.
The division bench said that the film's first trailer was objectionable, but that has been removed and all such objectionable scenes have been deleted from the movie. The court noted that it was in fact a "thinking movie" and not the sort where the audience is expected to "keep their brains at home" and only enjoy it. "The movie is in fact for the upliftment of women. The movie has a Maulana misinterpreting the Quran and in fact one Muslim man objects to the same in the scene. So this shows that people should apply their mind and not blindly follow such Maulanas," PTI reported quoting the high court.
The makers have also agreed to put two disclaimers of 12 seconds each in the film. As per Live Law, the makers have also agreed to pay costs of Rs 5 lakhs to a charity of the petitioner's choice.
How it all started?
A bunch of petitions were filed in the HC earlier this month seeking a ban on the movie claiming that it was derogatory towards the Muslim community and had distorted what the Quran says. While initially the high court postponed the release of the movie, it later permitted the release after the makers said the objectionable portions would be deleted as directed by the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC).
The petitioners then moved the Supreme Court, which last week stayed the release of the movie and directed the HC to hear and take an appropriate decision. On Tuesday, the bench led by Justice Colabawalla said it has seen the movie after the removal of all objectionable portions and found nothing in it that would incite violence.
(With PTI inputs)
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