Peter Mukherjea sends legal notice to halt screening of film based on Sheena Bora case

Dark Chocolate, a bilingual film on the notorious Sheena Bora murder case, is all set to release on 2 September, but not before a legal hurdle. [caption id=“attachment_2986242” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The first look of the film Dark Chocolate.[/caption] On Tuesday former media baron and also an accused in the case, Peter Mukherjea sent a legal notice to stay the release of the film. However producer Pradip Churiwal has said that they will go ahead with the release of the film anyway. In this  Hindustan Times report, Churiwal has explained, “Khimani and Associates, the advocates of Peter and Indrani Mukherjea, has issued legal notices to us and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) alleging misleading and illegal content. The content of the notice is completely baseless and false. They have referred to an extract from the first order passed by Bombay High Court on 17 February, which was modified by another order dated 7 April. In the modified order, the court refused to pass an order under the prayer made by the petitioner and allowed us to complete the film and present it to the censor board.” Actress Mahima Chaudhry, who will be playing the role of Sheena’s mother Indrani Mukherjea, said to India Today, “Peter and Indrani Mukerjea’s lawyer first sent a notice saying that this might affect the trials and so they wanted a stay. But they said that if we get the censor certificate, then we can go ahead with the release if there is nothing objectionable that would affect the trails. The court has asked us to go ahead with the release. We are releasing the film and it is on schedule.” Mukerjea has tried earlier as well to halt the film, by filing a petition in the Bombay High Court saying that it would violate his fundamental right to free and just trial. The director of the film Agnidev Chatterjee and the producers filed their reply which said Mukerjea’s claim that he would not get a fair trial if the film was released casts aspersions on the integrity of the judiciary itself. In August last year, Mumbai police had arrested Indrani, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and her former driver Shyamwar Rai for the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. Since then, the unfolding of the events of the case has taken the whole country’s attention.