New Delhi: A Nepal court overturned the ban on Hindi films, including Prabhas’ Adipurush, on Thursday, directing officials not to prohibit the exhibition of any film approved by the country’s censor board.
A dialogue in Adipurush in which Sita is referred to as “India’s daughter” prompted Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah to declare a ban on all Hindi films.
On Thursday, Shah stated that he is willing to face any punishment but will not allow the video to be screened because the issue concerns “Nepal’s sovereignty and independence.”
A single bench of Patan High Court judge Dhir Bahadur Chand issued a short-term judgement stating that the exhibition of films with censor board authorization should not be halted.
Nepal court lifts ban on Adipurush
The petitioners are awaiting a written order from the court, according to Bhaskar Dhungana, president of the Nepal Motion Picture Association.
“Now we will screen all movies passed by the censor board,” he said.
Adipurush and other Hindi films were banned in Nepal on Monday following a backlash over the film’s dialogue, which included a reference to Sita (played by Kriti Sanon) as “India’s daughter.” Many believe Sita, also known as Janaki, was born at Janakpur, which is located in southeast Nepal.
In a Facebook post, Shah said that he would not “abide by the court’s order”.
“The film’s writer said that Nepal was under India, this clearly shows India’s ill intention. To term this as a stunt by the Nepal government and to issue an order by the court in favour of screening the movie means, to accept that Nepal was once under India’s rule, the court and the government are both the slaves of India,” he said in the post.
“I am ready to face any punishment for this but the movie won’t work and won’t be allowed to run,” he added.
