Supreme Court clears release of controversial Punjabi film Nanak Shah Fakir after resistance from Akal Takht

Supreme Court has cleared the release of controversial Punjabi film Nanak Shah Fakir, citing the nod from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and artistic freedom as the reasons.

#SupremeCourt clears release of controversial movie #NanakShahFakir, citing Censor Board nod & artistic freedom.
SC snubs resistance by #SGPC against release of movie over depiction of the first Sikh guru. All state governments to ensure law & order. @utkarsh_aanand

— News18 Courtroom (@News18Courtroom) April 10, 2018

With a section of the Sikhs opposing the film for its portrayal of the Sikh Gurus as living human beings, the Akal Takht on Monday announced a ban on its release scheduled for 13 April.

"We have imposed a ban on the controversial movie Nanak Shah Fakir. The film cannot be released (on 13 April)," Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh told the media in Amritsar, around 250 km from Chandigarh.

The Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion. He said the religious sentiments of the community had been hurt over the portrayal of the Sikh masters. The movie was earlier to be released in 2015 but was shelved following the controversy.

With a number of Bollywood and Punjabi movies running into trouble vis-a-vis Sikh organisations over the portrayal of community members and the Sikh Gurus, the Akal Takht also decided to constitute a Sikh Censor Board on the matter.

In future, the Jathedar said, filmmakers will be required to seek the approval of the said board before starting a movie project in which Sikh religion or Sikhs were to be portrayed or highlighted in any manner.

- With inputs from IANS

Published Date: Apr 10, 2018 10:33 AM | Updated Date: Apr 10, 2018 12:25 PM