‘Hamare Baarah’: Bombay HC says Annu Kapoor starrer has nothing against the Muslim community

The Bombay High Court, emphasizing that the Indian public is ‘not gullible or silly,’ stated on June 18 that it had watched the movie ‘Hamare Baarah,’ starring Annu Kapoor, and found nothing objectionable in it that was against the Quran or the Muslim community. The court further noted that the film is aimed at uplifting women.

‘The movie is in fact for the upliftment of women. The movie has a Maulana misinterpreting the Quran and in fact one Muslim man objects to the same in the scene. So this shows that people should apply their mind and not blindly follow such Maulanas,’ the high court said.

‘We don't think there is anything in the movie that would incite any violence. If we felt so we would be the first ones to object to it. Indian public is not so gullible or that silly,’ the court said.

Earlier this month, several petitions were filed in the High Court seeking a ban on the movie ‘Hamare Baarah,’ alleging that it was derogatory towards the Muslim community and distorted the teachings of the Quran.

Initially, the high court postponed the movie's release. However, it later permitted the release after the filmmakers agreed to delete objectionable portions as directed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

A division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla noted that the film's first trailer was objectionable, but since then, all objectionable scenes have been deleted.

The bench stated that the filmmakers would be required to pay a cost for releasing the trailer before receiving certification from the censor board. The court stated, ‘Violation was there regarding the trailer. So you will have to pay something towards a charity of the petitioner's choice. Cost will have to be paid. This litigation has given the film so much unpaid publicity.’

The court also cautioned the filmmakers to be careful and not include dialogues and scenes under the guise of creative freedom that could hurt the sentiments of any religion.

‘The makers should also be careful what they put out. They cannot hurt the sentiments of any religion. They (Muslim) are the second largest religion of this country,’ the court said.

The petitioners alleged that the movie promotes domestic violence, but the bench countered that domestic violence is not limited to any single community.

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