The Patan High Court has issued a short-term interim order not to stop the screening of any film. A single bench of Justice Dhir Bahadur Chand on Thursday issued an order not to stop any film that has been allowed to be screened by the Censor Board. With this order of the court, the legal way has been opened for the screening of the Indian film ‘Adipurush’. Due to the dialogue about Sita included in this film, screenings of Indian films were stopped in various cities of the country including Kathmandu.
Balen Shah, head of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, gave three days time to the producer to correct the dialogue about Sita included in ‘Adipurush’ in India. However, after the dialogue was not corrected, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City stopped the screening of all Indian films in the theaters under its jurisdiction from Monday. Against the decision of Balen, on Wednesday, the umbrella organization of distributors and theater professionals, the Nepal Movie Association filed a writ petition in the High Court.
However, the Mayor of Kathmandu, Shah, has taken a stand against the High Court’s order not to stop the screening of Indian films. He has mentioned on Facebook that he will not obey any law or court regarding the sovereignty and independence of the country. He has declared that he is ready to suffer any punishment but will not allow Indian films to run.
He has written, ‘When the film writer says that Nepal was under the rule of India, their intentions are known. The Nepal government will call this a stunt and the court will allow the film to run because Nepal was under the rule of India, the court and the government are understood to be slaves of India. I am ready to suffer any punishment for this, but the film will not run and will not be allowed to run.’
Mayor Shah’s statement that the court and the government are slaves of India, now it seems that the conflict between the federal government and the local government (Kathmandu metropolis) will intensify. Mayor Shah’s stance of not obeying the court’s order has received great support on social media. Despite the High Court’s order, Balen has taken a stand not to allow Indian films to be played, and the hall businessmen are confused.
