The Messenger of God has failed to create a miracle at the Central Board of Film Certification and convert its officials into followers who would certify it for big screen consumption. The film, featuring self-styled guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, has reportedly been put on hold as a number of the Censor Board’s examining committee members have an objection to Singh depicting himself as God in the film and curing terminal diseases.
The film, which is slated for release on January 16, has been referred to the Film Certification Apellate Tribunal (FCAT) following an unanimous decision of Censor Board’s review committee on Monday. Other sources related to the film said that while they respected the Censor Board’s decision and would follow the due procedure, the film had no objectionable element or any such thing that would hurt the sentiments of any religious group.
They added that they enjoyed the same constitutional rights as others and could see no reason why the film should not be released. The official spokesperson for MSG: Messenger of God, Aditya Insaan, said that they were awaiting the written orders from the authorities. However, producer and director of MSG Ram Rahim Singh on Monday said he was not averse to removing some scenes if censor board objected to them. "If the board finds any portion of the film objectionable, I will happily get them removed," said the Dera chief at a Press conference in Jaipur.
Messenger of God has been mired in controversy ever since its trailer was released, where Singh could be seen singing, dancing and beating up the goons. According to agencies, the Home Ministry was mulling approaching the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to stop the screening of the movie, as it has specific inputs that various Sikh groups are planning protests against Singh’s “glorification.”