Supreme Court stays release of 'Hamare Baarah' movie

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday put a stay on the release of the Annu Kapoor starrer movie 'Hamare Baarah' and asked the Bombay High Court to decide expeditiously a petition alleging that the film was derogatory to the Islamic faith and married Muslim women.

A vacation bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta halted the release of the film till the disposal of the petition challenging the movie's certification.

The movie was scheduled to release on June 14.

The apex court was hearing a plea challenging the order of the Bombay High Court permitting the release of the movie.

"Until disposal of the petition before the High Court, screening of the movie in question shall remain suspended. We request the High Court to dispose of the plea expeditiously," the bench stated in its order.

During the hearing, the judges also observed that they watched the teaser of the movie today and found it to be "offensive."

Petitioner Azhar Basha Tamboli had earlier approached the High Court against the certificate given by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to the movie and sought to revoke the certification granted to the film "Hamare Baarah" and injuncting its release.

Reacting to the Supreme Court ruling, Producer Virender Bhagat thanked the apex court for hearing the matter.

He also said that the censor board had found the movie to be themed on women's empowerment and population awareness

Speaking to ANI, Virender Bhagat said, "I want to thank the Supreme Court for hearing us today. The censor board said that this is a movie on women's empowerment and population awareness and had submitted the report to the Bombay High Court.

"The Supreme Court said that the film screening would be stopped as decided by the Bombay High Court. SC also gave instructions to hear this matter immediately and give a verdict on this as early as possible," he added.

Recently, the Bombay HC permitted the release of the movie after the makers agreed to delete two dialogues from the film.

Earlier, the court was informed that a three-person review committee could not conclude and requested more time for their report.

The court expressed its dissatisfaction, stating, "It's totally unacceptable that the committee has failed to fulfill its obligation given by this court specifically in its previous order."

Following this, senior advocate Rahul Narichania, representing the filmmakers, agreed to delete the two dialogues objected to by the petitioners to avoid delays.

Jointly produced by Birender Bhagat, Ravi S Gupta, Sanjay Nagpal, and Sheo Balak Singh, and directed by Kamal Chandra, 'Hamare Baarah' promises to deliver a compelling narrative, shedding light on a pressing social issue, exploring the theme of 'overpopulation'.

The film stars Annu Kapoor, Manoj Joshi, and Paritosh Tripathi.

The Karnataka government has banned the release or broadcast of the movie 'Hamare Baarah' in the state for two weeks or until further notice.

The Congress-led government in the state alleged that the release of 'Hamare Baarah' would create communal tension in the state.

Authorities made this decision after considering requests from several minority organizations and delegations, and after watching the trailer.

The movie was slated to release on June 7, 2024, across the country.