The Supreme Court has stayed criminal proceedings against the Malayalam teen sensation Priya Prakash Varrier for enacting a romantic scene on a traditional Muslim song in the movie Oru Adaar love.
Varrier, along with the film director, had approached the apex court to seek stay on two FIRs lodged by Muslim fringe groups in Maharashtra and Telangana. The Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud directed stay on the proceedings in the two FIRs and further restrained any other State from lodging any fresh FIR in this regard.
The Bench said, “We are inclined to direct that any criminal action initiated against the petitioner in the respondent States or any other State solely on basis of the promotional video of the song Manikya Malarayi Poovi in the movie Oru Adaar love shall remain stayed.”
Advocate Harris Beeran pointed out that presently the petitioners (actress and film director) feared coercion against them in the two FIRs. The Bench then ordered, “No future criminal action shall proceed in the two FIRs on basis of her participation as actress in the said film.” The court extended the order even to the director and producer of the movie.
The Bench even issued notice to the Telangana and Maharashtra Governments seeking response to the petition where the 18-year-old Varrier, a B Com student from Thrissur district, and questioned what was so offensive about the song that it violated religious sentiment of Muslims when the same is a traditional song sung by the Muslim community in Kerala in praise of Prophet Mohammad and his wife Khadeeja.
Two FIRs — one lodged on February 14 at Falaknama police station in Hyderabad on the complaint of a group of local Muslim youngsters and another by the secretary of Raza Academy with the Mumbai Police — demanded the video to be taken down from the internet.
The petition submitted, “The criminal complaints have been instituted by various fringe groups based on a distorted and incorrect interpretation of the song…it is hard to fathom that a song which has been in existence for the past 40 years, which was written, sung and cherished by the Muslim community in Kerala is now being treated as an insult to the Prophet and his wife.”