Shillong, June 22: Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah has declared that he will not permit the screening of Indian films in cinemas across the Nepalese capital, despite a court order instructing otherwise.
Immediately after the high court issued an interim order allowing the screening of Indian movies, Mayor Shah openly challenged the decision.
In response to a petition filed by the Nepal Film Union, the Patan High Court stated on Thursday that no film approved or cleared by the censor board should be prohibited from being shown.
The Nepal Film Union had approached the high court in opposition to Shah’s threat of banning the screening of any Indian film until the creators of ‘Adipurush’ rectify an alleged error regarding the birthplace of Sita, a central character in the movie based on the Hindu epic Ramayana.
The film has been embroiled in controversy in both Nepal and India due to its storyline and dialogues.
Expressing concerns over the alleged error, Shah halted the screening of the film in Kathmandu’s cinema halls for one week.
The movie’s producers also wrote a separate letter to the Mayor, attempting to convince him that no dialogue in the film had hurt the sentiments of the Nepali people.
“When it comes to the sovereignty and independence of the country, I am not going to comply with any law or court,” Shah wrote on his Facebook account soon after the high court issued the interim order.
The people of Nepal strongly believe that Sita was born in Janakpur, which is now situated within Nepalese territory.
