Delhi High Court refuses to entertain plea against release of ‘The Taj Story’ movie

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a stay on the release of Paresh Rawal-starrer Bollywood movie ‘The Taj Story’, scheduled to hit the screens on Friday.

During a brief hearing, the court of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela pointed out that the Cinematograph Act did not have any provision for review, and the prayer cannot be granted.

The counsel argued he was not against the exhibition of the film, but was seeking a disclaimer to be put in place that the content was not definitive history.

“Are we a super censor board?... You want a disclaimer saying this is not history. Tell me, in any work of fiction, whether the author puts a disclaimer that this is not history?

“Even for history, two historians may have different views, but which historian’s view is correct, is this something to be decided by us? What are the standards available to us to decide this?” the bench asked.

It said the petitioners did not do proper research before filing the plea, and added it would be more appropriate for them to approach the government.

The bench added that actor Paresh Rawal should not have been made a party to the petition.

“Why have you made the actor (Paresh Rawal) a party? If tomorrow you file a contempt (plea), would you make the lawyer a party? He (Rawal) is a professional actor, he is not responsible for the content,” the court said.

“The petitioners, at this juncture, pray to withdraw the petition to press before the government,” it added.

The petition had also sought a direction to the makers of the film to “clearly display, in all promotions and in the credits, a prominent disclaimer stating that the film deals with a contested narrative and does not claim to be a definitive historical account”.

It further sought direction to all state agencies to ensure that no communal incident arises from the incident.

The PIL alleged the film was based on fabricated facts with a particular propaganda by casting/production/direction/writer for gaining political influence and a step to create a communal disturbance among the different communities in India, which, it claimed, was a grave violation of the public interest.

Presented by Swarnim Global Service Pvt Ltd, the movie is directed by Tushar Amrish Goel and produced by CA Suresh Jha.

Though the exact story of the film remains unclear, the makers said in an earlier statement that the movie raises the “questions and the secrets that are buried behind the 22 sealed doors of The Taj Mahal”.

The movie also “promises to present a chapter from Indian history that no one has ever dared to present before”, the makers claimed.

Earlier this month, the movie’s first poster courted controversy after it depicted Rawal’s character removing the dome of the Taj Mahal and a statue of Lord Shiva emerging from it.