Dhwaja pranamam and beef biryani scene should be removed; Shane Nigam starrer 'Haal' receive backlash from HC

KOCHI: The High Court has upheld several changes suggested by the Censor Board in the movie Haal. The words Dhwaja pranamam, domestic enemies, Ganapathivattom, and 'sangam kaval undu' should be removed. The deletion of the scene where beef biriyani is eaten, deletion of dialogues that demean certain cultural organisations and blurring of 'rakhi', among other changes suggested by the Censor Board, were upheld by the High Court.

Meanwhile, the court observed that the theme of the film is in line with constitutional values. “While proceeding to decide the lis, this Court has to bear in mind that every societal issue, be they economic policy, social justice or governance, must be viewed through the prism of constitutional values and refracted through the foundational principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity along with the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India. Upon viewing the film from the perspective of an ordinary person, this Court found the theme of the film to be in tune with the foundational principles enunciated in our Constitution,” opined the Court. The court ruled that the film cannot be called 'Love Jihad' and given an A certificate just because it depicts love between different religious groups and pointed out that the censor board cannot exercise its power over the film as it pleases.