Plea in J-K HC seeking stay on release of movie 'Shikara'

A petition has been filed in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, seeking a stay on the release of Hindi movie 'Shikara' which is based on exodus of Kashmir Pandits from the Valley in 1990.

The petition, filed by three social activists on Monday before the registry of the high court, is seeking stay on release of the movie on the grounds that besides not being based on facts, it was also "communal in nature".

The petition has not been listed for a hearing yet. The activists have sought a review and editing of the "objectionable" scenes and narrations of the movie which, the petitioners claim, blames the entire Kashmiri population for the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in 1990.

The petitioners have maintained that the trailers of the movie that are being shown on the television indicate that the movie has the potential of communal polarisation. "The above said narration and depiction of events is not only concocted and far away from truth but is also communal in nature," they said.

The petition seeks directions to the respondents, including the producer and director of the movie Vidhu Vinod Chopra, to withhold the release of the movie on February 7 till it is reviewed, scrutinised and censored by appropriate authorities. 

The official handle of Vidhu Vinod Chopra Films on Twitter released a statement,  saying, "We have just learnt from media sources that a petition has been filed in the Hon. J&K HC against the release of #Shikara. We have no other information about the matter. Our counsel #HarishSalve will take appropriate steps as may be required."