A day after the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs, pardoned Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh, "Messenger of God" (MSG 2), featuring the Dera head hit screens across Punjab.
The film, a sequel to MSG, was released pan India last Friday, barring Punjab as exhibitors apprehended law and order problem from the Sikh outfits.
The MSG was banned by the Punjab Government unlike MSG 2, but exhibitors refrained from screening the film in theatres and multiplexes in the State.
"Several screens, cities and towns saw 'houseful signboards' on hundreds of screens and shows over the week even as the movie has opened in Punjab to a strong reception," Dera spokesman Aditya Insaan said.
Huge crowd was found in theatres and multiplexes in Punjab even as the sect head had run into controversy again after he was exonerated by the Akal Takht, top temporal seat of Sikhs at Amritsar on Thursday. The dera claimed that it has five crore followers.
Seeking to put behind a bitter row between them, the Akal Takht said it has pardoned Singh, who is accused of hurting the sentiments of Sikhs, following a letter of apology from him.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief landed in a row with the Sikhs, after he attired himself as the 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh during a religious congregation of the sect at their headquarters in Sirsa, Haryana in 2007.
After a marathon meeting of the Takht in Amritsar, Jathedar Gyani Gurbachan Singh on Friday announced that the Takht received a written apology recently from the chief of the Sirsa-headquartered sect in which Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has stated that he has deep respect and regard for Guru Gobind Singh as well as Sikh religion and Sikh community.
Several Sikh organisations like All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF), Bhai Mohkam Singh's United Akali Dal and Dal Khalsa registered their protest against the decision.