Claiming that he was cheated, Ghulam Hassan Shah asks Vishal Bharwaj to apologise or pay Rs 50 lakh
Solemnising a reel-life nikah of Tabu with Kay Kay Menon in the highly-acclaimed Bollywood thriller 'Haider' has cost imam Ghulam Hassan Shah his job as a mosque preacher in restive Kashmir.
Maulvi Ghulam Hassan Shah, an imam of Masjid Baba Dawood Khaki, Gulshan Mohalla Bachi Darwaza, has sent a legal notice to director Vishal Bhardwaj asking either to apologise or pay Rs 50 lakh as damages for allegedly using the footage "deceitfully".
Maulvi Shah, a father of two from Kond Qazigund in south Kashmir, was sacked by the mosque management for the 'un-Islamic act'. He had been leading the prayers for more than seven years now. Shah is seen solemnising nikah of Gazalla Mir (Tabu) with Khurram Mir (Kay Kay Menon) in the movie after the death of the father of the protagonist Shahid Kapoor.
"Whereas, my client lost the sole livelihood due to the obnoxious footage in respect to my client in Haider. As such, my client was expelled from the Holy Masjid Baba Dawood Khaki, wherein my client was discharging his religious duties as imam for the last more than seven years. The said footage has not only defamed my client but lowered his status and self-respect among members of the society at large," reads the legal notice issued by advocate Firdous Ahmad Bhat, counsel for Shah.
Bhat noted that his client was screened while reciting a nikah on the assurance that it was to be utilised as for some educative purposes.
"But you really intended to utilise the footage for the film Haider which to the least is obnoxious. If on ethical side your establishment that has all-India reputation feels the fact stated in this as accurate then in that eventuality you may be well advised to publish an apology in national press for at least three regular occasions, otherwise if you would not dispute it would be condign assessment if my client restricts his claim to Rs 50 lakh as normally reputation is invaluable," the notice reads.
Bhat asked Bhardwaj to send a detailed reply explicating the circumstances that led to utilise this footage that added credence to your movie Haider.
"Should you fail, I have clear instructions from my client to take appropriate legal action/recourse (criminal/civil) under law against you at your own risk and cost," the notice concludes.
Set in Kashmir, Haider is a Bollywood adaptation of Shakespearian tragedy Hamlet. Starring Shahid Kapoor and Shradda Kapoor, the screenplay of the movie was written by Basharat Peer, the author of best-selling Curfewed Night.
For the first time several characters were being being played by Kashmiri artistes in Bollywood movie. This is in addition to hundreds of local extras hired for the movie.
Haider has brought back the harsh realities of Kashmir from cold storage to the mainstream focus with cinema as the medium. From enforced disappearances to unmarked graves, to custodial killings and torture, to Ikhwani terror, the Kashmir's dark underbelly laid bare on the 70mm.
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