India court lifts film ban

INDIA’S top court yesterday overturned a ban imposed by several states on the release of a Bollywood epic about a mythical Hindu queen.

The Supreme Court said the ban, following violent protests by members of the Hindu right who claimed the film falsely depicted a romance between the queen and a Muslim ruler, violated creative freedoms.

India’s film censor board had cleared Padmaavat for release subject to certain changes, but at least four states said they would ban its screening.

“Cinemas are an inseparable part of right to free speech and expression,” Chief Justice Dipak Misra said. “States . . . cannot issue notifications prohibiting the screening of a film.”

Harish Salve, a lawyer representing the movie’s producers, said the states “cannot ban screening to appease their political constituency”.

Such a move would lead to constitutional breakdown, he told The Hindu newspaper.

Last January, protesters from a hardline Hindu group attacked the film’s director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and vandalised the set during filming in Rajasthan.

The leader of the group offered 50million rupees (R9.5-million) to anyone who “beheaded” lead actress Deepika Padukone or Bhansali.

Protesters attacked another set near Mumbai in March.

“Every story can’t be told how bullies want it,” tweeted author Chetan Bhagat after the ruling. —