Punjab suspends screening of ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 15

The Punjab Government today suspended the screening of “Nanak Shah Fakir”, a movie on the life and teachings of the first Sikh Guru, for two months across the state. Slated for release on April 17, the film, however, will be screened in Chandigarh and neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.

Producer Harinder Sikka has booked 500 screens in India and abroad for the movie’s release. Suspension of the movie’s screening seems to be a last-minute decision by the state government to buy time and convince Sikka to remove some “scenes that depict the physical form of the Guru Nanak Dev”.

The decision to suspend the movie’s screening in the state was taken at a meeting between the state chief secretary and additional chief secretary (Home) this afternoon. Later, a government release said: “Following widespread resentment against the film among Sikhs, the government has decided to suspend the screening of the movie for two months, as it is perceived to go against the religious tenets and maryada of the Sikh community. The suspension comes into force with immediate effect and will apply to all forms of public and private exhibition, distribution and viewing of the film in the state. The film would be deemed to be uncertified in the state during the period of suspension.”

Talking to The Tribune, Sikka and the movie’s associate producer Geetanjali Sehgal said it was sad that the movie’s screening was suspended in Punjab. “The movie has been made to spread the message of Guru Nanak Dev ji. We had got all big names on board to produce the movie and ensure that the maryada was observed at all times. People who saw the movie had wept and had goose bumps at the depiction of the Wahe Guru and His divine teachings,” Sehgal said.

Sikka questioned how a fringe group could decide what all Sikhs could watch. "The movie was granted written permission by the Darbar Sahib four months ago. Now a fringe group, that claims intellectual property rights over the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev ji, decides that the movie is not to be screened. Is it fair that while my graphic description of the Guru (whom I have projected only through the back and as a ray of light) is considered unacceptable, while a movie like Chaar Sahibzaade is acceptable?," he said.
Besides having booked almost 400 screens in India, the producers have booked 50 screens in the US and Canada and 30 in New Zealand and Australia for screening of the movie. The movie was to be screened at 30 places in Punjab.
Sumeet Singh, MD and CEO of Saga Music and Unisys Info Solutions that has got the worldwide music rights of the movie, told The Tribune that the movie had already got international acclaim after it did the rounds of some film festivals. “Being a Sikh, I agree that religious protocol and permission from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is important. But the film nowhere breaches that maryada. The only idea behind making the movie was to spread the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev ji,” he said, adding that neither he nor the producers were targeting profits from the movie, but treated it as a religious commitment.
Last week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had refused to grant a stay on the release of the movie after a petition filed by Satpal Singh of Ludhiana had termed the film “against the Sikh tenets” and stated that it hurt the sentiments of Sikhs. The court has asked the Central Board of Film Certification, producer Sikka, Government of Punjab and Central Government to file their replies on April 23.
The Dal Khalsa, too, had sought a ban on the movie. The SGPC also had sought the Centre’s intervention in banning the release of the movie, saying it was blasphemous and against the Sikh religion. As per Sikh tenets, personification of Sikh Gurus is not allowed and nor can animation character of Sikh Gurus be created.