Gujarat High Court asks Salman Khan Films to produce Supreme Court verdict on Loveratri by Oct 3

After the Supreme Court provided relief to Salman Khan Films (SKF) in the ongoing controversy over the title of its soon to release movie 'Loveratri', the Gujarat High Court on Thursday ordered the production company to produce the apex court's order before it by October 3.

The HC was hearing a petition filed by Sanatan Foundation seeking a ban on the release of the movie on the ground that the title 'Loveratri' sounds similar to Navratri and affects Hindu sentiments.

During the hearing of the petition, senior advocate Mihir Joshi appearing for the production company informed the division bench of chief justice R Subhash Reddy and justice VM Pancholi that the SC has already directed on Thursday that no coercive action should be taken against the production company of the film 'Loveratri'. The senior advocate also apprised the bench that the name of the film has been already changed from 'Loveratri' to 'Loveyatri...a journey of love'.

Joshi also pointed out that the producers of the film have re-applied for a censor certificate from Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) post the change in name and it is for CBFC to decide whether the film affects Hindu sentiments or not, and suggest changes to align it with the provisions of Cinematograph Act as well as guidelines of CBFC. The counsel for SKF also pointed out that the production house has spent around Rs 31.70 crore on making the film and an additional sum of Rs 4.32 crore has been spent for promoting and advertising the film, and a delay in its release would result in a major financial loss for SKF.

Notably, in the reply submitted by SKF before the HC, it has been mentioned that the film is about the love story of the lead characters and the festival of Navratri has been shown in the film in certain sections in a glorified manner, which in no way demeans the festival or outrages the religious beliefs of Hindus.


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