Hindustan Kanojia Organisation of Dhobis chairman Vinod Kumar Kanojia approached the Delhi high court, demanding a change of title before its release in theatres later this year or early next year.
Bollywood star Aamir Khan’s wife Kiran Rao has to grapple with a legal case over the title of her directorial debut Dhobi Ghat, which premiered at the Toronto international film festival recently.
Claiming that the film title was a sign for creating caste division in the dhobi community, Hindustan Kanojia Organisation of Dhobis chairman Vinod Kumar Kanojia approached the Delhi high court, demanding a change of title before its release in theatres later this year or early next year.
Kanojia requested the censor board to review the film’s title so that it does not encourage caste division in society.
“The film could have been given some other name. It has been given the name to hurt the feelings of the community, which is highly condemned,” Kanojia stated in his petition.
Kanojia said, “The community has been notified as scheduled caste in the Constitution and calling any person by its name is a punishable offence. The film’s title is violating fundamental rights of the community and it must be restrained by the court.” The court is likely to hear the matter on Wednesday.
“The movie will encourage caste division in society and such has been done by the director and producer of the film to get publicity and to earn money, which is very minor and dirty thinking. Nobody has the right to sell the name of any caste,” Kanojia stated, adding that the community was deeply hurt.
The movie, which was shown to a packed hall at Toronto’s Elgin theatre, had impressed almost everyone. The viewers were apparently spellbound by its characters, story and director.
In the movie, Aamir plays the lead role of a painter, while Monica Dogra, Prateik Babbar and Kriti Malhotra also star in it. The film depicts the lives of Arun (painter), Munna (washerman), Yasmin (young married Muslim girl) and Shai (banker on holiday in India), which are all entwined.
Aamir Khan Productions’ Dhobi Ghat follows the international success of Peepli Live.
Peepli Live focused on the qualms of rural society, while Dhobi Ghat highlights the complexities of city life.
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