Ram-Leela gets a new name, court withdraws restrain order

New Delhi: A Delhi court Wednesday recalled its order restraining Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and EROS International Media Limited from using the title Ram-leela for their yet-to-be-released film starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. The movie is scheduled to be released on 15 November. Additional District Judge A.S. Jayachandra recalled Tuesday’s order saying he committed a mistake by passing the decision as he was not informed by the counsel for plaintiffs that the Delhi High Court has already refused to ban the release of the movie. [caption id=“attachment_1225775” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] Advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Eros International Media Ltd, placed before the court the high court order which had earlier refused to ban the movie and imposed a cost of Rs.50,000 on an NGO which had moved the plea against the film. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film will now be called Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela. This is the second time the film’s name has been changed. It was previously changed from Ramleela to Ram-Leela. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali told NDTV, “It appears that some misinformation is being carried out regarding the said film (Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela) which we would like to clarify and state that the said film is inspired and based on William Shakespeare’s work Romeo and Juliet.” The name change is a result of an order passed by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday (November 13, 2013) staying the release of the film. A petition filed against the film accused it of hurting religious sentiments and also said that, since the term Ram Leela is associated with Lord Ram, movie-goers would expect to be watching a religious film. The court’s order Tuesday came on a suit filed by six petitioners, including Prabhu Samaj Dharmik Ram Leela Committee, saying the movie hurt religious sentiments of Hindus as it contains sex, violence and vulgarity. The plea said the word Ram Leela is associated with Lord Rama and people will watch this movie with an expectation that it would be related to his life but the film will hurt their sentiments. It also said the name of the movie should be changed as it has nothing to do with mythology and that it was misleading. With inputs from IANS