Mumbai, Aug 25 The Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC) has been given the directive by the Bombay High Court to certify the upcoming film ‘Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi’, and give clearance for its theatrical release without any cuts or modifications.
The order came on Monday, after the court heard the matter over repeated non-compliance by the CBFC. The bench had decided to watch the film over the weekend and on Monday noted that there was no issue because of which the film should be denied a certificate by the CBFC.
However, Senior Advocate Ram Apte, appearing for the CBFC, argued that the film contains obscenity and could be defamatory towards CM Adityanath. When the bench asked him if he had seen the film, he replied in negative.
The court further suggested that the CBFC may require an additional disclaimer stating that the film is a creative work and is based on fictional characters. The Petitioners provided the Bench a copy of a modified Disclaimer which the Court accepted and directed it to be attached to the Film.
The bench said, “We have seen the movie in its context, and we don't see that anything needs to be re-edited. We have paused at every point you flagged. We have noted everything. We don't find anything objectionable".
The petitioners Samrat Cinematics India Pvt. Ltd, represented by advocates Ravi Kadam, Satatya Anand and Nikhil Aradhe pointed out that following a court direction, the CBFC had asked for 29 cuts and its revision committee had brought it down to 21, but the film makers were not agreeable to those cuts and thus had approached the court.
The bench observed that the film is based on a book, 'The Monk Who Became Chief Minister' and asked Apte if he had read the book to which he denied.
The Petitioners Advocates relied on a case of the Bombay High Court which categorically states that a movie cannot be denied certification on the grounds that it is based on an individual or some real events.
All the reasons stated by CBFC for denying certification have been struck down and the movie is directed to be released to the theatres, accordingly, the Court directed the CBFC to grant certification to the film.
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