'Kedarnath' crew breathes relief, Uttarakhand HC dismisses plea seeking ban on release

Sara Ali Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer Kedarnath, which released today, was under a heat of controversies regarding its release. Kedarnath is a romantic flick which revolves around the disastrous 2013 Uttarakhand floods. Soon after the trailer was launched, the film landed in a pit of troubles when Teerth purohits (priests) of the shrine town of Kedarnath in Uttarakhand’s Chardham demanded that a blanket ban be imposed on the movie stating that it hurts the Hindu religious sentiments and promotes ‘Love Jihad’. However, ahead of its Friday release, the Uttarakhand High Court, following the Bombay and Gujarat High Courts, has dismissed a PIL filed against the film.

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The move comes as a major relief to the team of Kedarnath, as the PIL suggested that the film hurts the religious sentiments of the Hindus. The petitioner pleaded with the court to stop the release and sought a ban on the film. Dismissing the petition, a division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Ramesh Khulbe said a similar controversy surrounding the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat had made the film a super hit. The court advised the petitioner to approach a high powered committee headed by the Rudraprayag district magistrate with his objections to the movie.

The bench of justices event advised the counsel of petitioner not to watch the film if he so wished.

Earlier in the day, a PIL filed against the film was also dismissed by the Bombay High Court. a PIL filed against the film has been dismissed by the Bombay High Court.

“The storyline is cooked-up, imaginary, and the movie is an untrustworthy story of love between a Hindu Brahmin girl and a Muslim boy connected with the natural disaster of Uttarakhand,” the plea filed in the Gujarat court read. “The filmmakers have, by making such type of movie and releasing the trailer, made attempts to outrage and play with our religious sentiments using the name and abode of lord Shiva,” according to a report in Times Now.

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Sushant Singh Rajput is playing the role of a pithu, who carries pilgrims on their backs and is a Muslim by religion while Sara plays a role of a Hindu girl who falls in love with him.

Produced by Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP and Pragya Kapoor's Guy In the Sky Pictures, Kedarnath is directed by Abhishek Kapoor.