On Monday, the Delhi High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a title change for Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film Prithviraj. The appeal was submitted by the Rashtriya Pravasi Parishad, which claimed that the film’s present title is an insult to the king, who ruled for a substantial portion of the film with Delhi as his capital. The respondents in the case were the Union of India and the filmmakers, according to the petitioners [Rashtriya Pravasi Parishad (Regd) and Ors v Union of India and Ors].
The counsel argued, “We only want the movie to have a suitable title to honour the king who ruled for nearly 26 years. In its present form, the movie is lowering the dignity of King Prithviraj Chauhan. This is in contravention of laws and therefore hurts the sentiments of the people.”
A bench consisting of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, however, has decided not to send a notice to the PIL. It also threatened to levy expenses, prompting the attorney to withdraw the petition.
Last December, the Gurjars of Rajasthan threatened to boycott the screening of Prithviraj if the film continued to refer to Prithviraj Chauhan as a “Rajput.”
Prithviraj, according to the community, belonged to the Gurjar community and was not a Rajput. Leaders of the Rajput community, on the other hand, have flatly denied their claim, claiming that Gurjars were originally ‘gauchar,’ who later converted to Gujjars, and then to Gurjars.
Prithviraj, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, will be released in theatres on June 10th. Manushi Chhillar, Sanjay Dutt, Ashutosh Rana, and Sonu Sood star alongside Akshay Kumar in the film.
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