Firdaus Jahan for BeyondHeadlines
Jamiat Ulama e Maharashtra (JUeM) has take strong objection to the depiction of madrassas as a source of terrorism in the upcoming movie ‘Ya Rab’ directed by Hasnain Hyderabadwala.
The petitioners have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court which admitted the PIL challenging the release of the film, which was scheduled to be screened in theaters on 7 February 2014.
The court has posted hearing on the PIL on Friday. The matter was scheduled to be heard by a division bench consisting of Chief Justices Mohit Shah and Justice Sanklecha on 6 February 6, said Lawyer Mateen Shaikh.
According to the petition, the scenes in the movie depict that Aalims (religious teachers) in madrassas are brainwashing and preparing students for terrorist activities. The petitioners have taken strong objection to this blatant, fictitious and wrongful depiction of the madrassa.
The petitioner for JUeM, Gulzar Azmi said that madrassa is a place for education and it also houses orphans students. Mr. Azmi noted that madrassa is not a centre of any such anti-national activity.
While rebuffing ill depiction of madrassas, he said there are no incidents across the state where any terrorist or anti-national has been associated with a Madrassa.
Three advocates Adv. Mateen Shaikh, Adv. Afroz Ahmed Siddiqui and Adv. Ansar Tamboli have filed the petition before the Bombay High Court on behalf of JUeM. Senior Adv. Bukhari is scheduled to appear tomorrow for argument.
Adv. Mateen Shaikh said that the film was rejected by the Censor Board and no certificate for exhibition was issued. Also the review board rejected it again. When the producers appealed to the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal of India (FCATI), they were granted permission. FCATI awarded a U/A Certificate to the film.
The petitioners requested for deletion of some objectionable scenes and dialogues in the film. Adv. Mateen said that they don’t have any objection to the display of the film after the relevant cuts and modifications.
Update:
Today (6 February), the Bombay High Court refused to grant an stay on the exhibition of the film after its producer told the court that they deleted the alleged objectionable scenes from the movie. Film maker Mahesh Bhutt promoted ‘Ya Rab’ starring Big Boss fame Aijaz Khan in prominent role.
