In wake of the ban imposed on his film "˜Sadda Haq"™ by state governments across North India, actor-producer Kuljinder Sidhu on Thursday moved Supreme Court against the ban. The film ran into troubled waters after the governments of Punjab, Haryana, UTs of Chandigarh and Delhi decided to related stories
Why selective ban, asks SC
ban the movie, a day before its scheduled release on April 5, as it reportedly glorified the Khalistan separatist movement. Although there was no official ban, but the film was not screened in Jammu and Kashmir as well.
Presenting his side, Sidhu said that he decided to file a petition with the Supreme Court since they were losing precious time and the government was not listening to them."Even today I tried to meet deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal in Delhi but I got no appointment. Hence I had no option but to file a petition with the Supreme Court against the ban," he said.
Sidhu further evinced confidence that the Supreme Court"™s verdict will be in his favour and said that no incidents of tension were reported in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh where the film was screened.
"Earlier when the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh government had imposed a ban on the Movie Aarakshan, the chief justice of India has given a verdict in the favour of the movie and the ban was lifted. On the same grounds we are hopeful that our movie will also be allowed to go into the public domain. Besides we have Censor Board"™s certification for the movie," he said adding that the state governments have been asked to appear in court on Tuesday.
Sidhu also added that the movie is still running in cinemas at Mumbai, Hamirpur and Indore while the screening in theatres of Karnal and Kurukshetra was stopped two days back.
Earlier, the makers had also met Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh on Sunday requesting him to seek clarification from ruling party and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)