'Kedarnath' director Abhishek Kapoor requests Uttarakhand government to lift ban

Kedarnath director Abhishek Kapoor has requested the Uttarakhand government to lift the ban on the film. Starring debutante Sara Ali Khan and Kaipo Che star Sushant Singh Rajput, Kedarnath was released on Friday. The movie did moderately well on the box-office, but the film was banned in seven districts of Uttarakhand, owing to the protests by Hindu outfits.

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The decision has been taken by District Magistrates concerned in view of the situation prevailing in their areas, ADG (law and order) Ashok Kumar told PTI on Friday. There will be no screening of the film in seven districts of the state where Hindu outfits have protested against the film burning effigies of film-makers, Ashok added.

The filmmaker took to his social media to request Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to allow the film screening in the state. “I plead with the Uttarakhand govt to pls lift the ban on my film #kedarnath. Its an attempt to bring peace, harmony and healing to the people of this country. Pls dont deprive us of this opportunity. @tsrawatbjp @RonnieScrewvala” tweeted Abhishek.

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 is imposed on the movie stating that it hurts the Hindu religious sentiments and promotes ‘Love Jihad’. 

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In an interview with PTI, Sara said, “The dream was that I could pass on this story to some people. We shot the film in Uttarakhand, we stayed there for 40 days, I have best memories of my career there. It is very disheartening to not give back to them because they have given me so much. And that is the only real regret.”

“I don’t consider ethnicity, religion, caste as markers and consider them as divisive. I don’t think the film does either. The film is not about dividing you, it rather calls for coming together. I don’t know how people are feeling hurt. I don’t think they have seen the film,” added the actor.