Even as protests to stop the release of Santa Banta Pvt. ltd. continue, the Delhi High Court has given the movie a clean chit and has not made any change in the release date
Amidst controversies, protests and complains, Santa Banta Pvt. ltd. will see the light of day today. After facing the legal issues in response to the plea made by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Community, Santa Banta Pvt. ltd. has finally come out clean and will be releasing on it’s scheduled date. Irani said, “I will not get offensive if there are jakes on my community.”
Delhi High Court has asked the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to hear the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) which has claimed that the upcoming film ‘Santa Banta Pvt ltd’ makes fun of the Sikh community.
Justice J R Midha said this after the bench was informed by the government that DSGMC’s member can have a meeting tomorrow at CBFC chairman’s office in Mumbai regarding the film, which is scheduled to be released on April 22.
The issue was also brought up today before the Supreme Court which asked the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) counsel that he could file a petition and challenge whichever aspect they felt aggrieved of in the movie.
The high court was hearing a plea filed by DSGMC and two others against CBFC’s chairman Pahlaj Nihalani and its CEO Anurag Shrivastava in which it was alleged that they had not complied with the March 29 directions given by the court.
On March 29, a bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini had directed the CBFC to reconsider the ‘U/A’ certification issued to the film and asked it to give an opportunity to partiesto be heard on the issue before passing appropriate order.
The division bench had also asked CBFC to treat as a representation the petition filed by DSGMC, which has claimed that the movie could lead to “disturbance”.
In the plea which came up for hearing today, DSGMC alleged that the CBFC had “clandestinely” passed an order on April 7 without hearing them on the issue about certification of the movie despite court’s direction.
Countering DSGMC claims, government’s standing counsel Anil Soni told the court that proper messages were sent to them but they did not appear before the CBFC for a discussion.
“They (petitioners) are the ones who did not take the opportunity granted by the court. We have passed the order in their absence keeping in view their representation,” he said.
Directed by Akashdeep Sabir the film is produced under the banner of Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, and is based on a mission presented in the disguise of comedy. When asked about the film hurting the sentiments of Sikh community, Sabir said, “You can’t judge a book by its cover. You can’t say anything before watching the film. It is just a comic caper with a story in it. It has got nothing to do with Santa Banta jokes and nothing to do with the any religion.”
Vir Das will be playing a secret agent who has never been out of his village but somehow finds himself in Fiji. The actor said it was very difficult to shoot there as the weather was extremely hot.