Ram Leela banned in Uttar Pradesh

There seems to be no end to  Ram Leela’s controversies. Starting from its theatrical release the controversies haven’t stopped even after its release. First it was Indore to bann the screening and now its Uttar Pradesh. The Allahabad High Court on Thursday (November 21) banned the screening of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film “Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela” in Uttar Pradesh.

Ram-Leela, which released on November 15, has been doing great business and has already earned Rs 69 crore at the Box Office. Earlier this week, the Bombay High Court had directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to file an affidavit stating if it had followed the guidelines framed under the Cinematograph Act before issuing ‘U/A’ certification to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Ram-Leela’.

A petition in the Bombay High Court was filed by Sandeep Shukla, Congress member and vice president of Shree Maharashtra Ramleela Mandal, which has been holding Ramleela every year during Navratri at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai. The petition contends that the film’s name ‘Ram-Leela’ suggests it has something to do with Lord Ram of the epic ‘Ramayana’. However, the movie has nothing to do with Lord Ram and the promos and posters of the movie had hurt sentiments of Hindus.

The Bombay High court had also sought for the copy of an interim order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court which had prohibited the release of the movie with the title ‘Ram-Leela’.