'Mohalla Assi' to release on November 16

Sunny Deol and Sakshi Tanwar-starrer "Mohalla Assi", which received a censor certificate after a battle that lasted almost two years, will finally hit the screens on November 16.

The announcement was made with a motion poster released on social media on Friday.

The Chandraprakash Dwivedi directorial, based on Kashi Nath Singh's book "Kashi Ka Assi" that dissects the politically-charged events of 1990 and 1998 -- including the Ram Janmabhoomi issue and the implementation of the Mandal Commission -- was cleared with an 'A' certificate earlier in September.

Delay of the release began when the application for certification of the film was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in March 2016.

The Revising Committee of the board refused to issue the certificate for exhibition of the film stating that the form and content of the film were highly derogatory of humans, culture and religion, including but not limited to mythology and was laden with abusive, explicit content.

They also stated that the makers were misusing the freedom of expression.

Producer Vinay Tiwari then appealed to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), which in November 2016, directed the producer to carry out 10 cuts/modifications and resubmit the film for its consideration.

Contending that the FCAT order had a damaging effect on the theme of the movie, Tiwari challenged it in Delhi High Court through a writ petition. Thirteen months of appearing in court and 11 hearings later, they reserved a certificate, read a statement.

Earlier, following protests, the makers had removed a scene in which a man dressed as Lord Shiva was seen using abusive language.

Presented by Crossword Entertainment in association with Wisdom Tree Productions, the film has an ensemble cast with Ravi Kishan, Saurabh Shukla, Mukesh Tiwari and Rajendra Gupta among others.

--IANS

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