UP activist moves court for ban on 'Ram Leela'

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed before the Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench Wednesday for a ban on Bollywood film "Ram Leela", releasing Nov 15, if its makers did not change its name.

In her petition, social activist Nutan Thakur said that Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film has been given the name "Ram Leela" while it has nothing to do with this pious Hindu religious event.

Instead, the petitioner says, the film calls itself "Ram Leela of bullets" and that the official trailer of the film shows abusive language and intimate scenes between film actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, which are far away from the religious connotations the word "Ramleela" carries.

"The use of the word 'Ram Leela' is hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and hence either the film's name should be changed or the film be banned," Thakur told IANS.

She also added that she has sought a ban on promos and denial of certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) if the producer does not change the name of the film.

In Jaipur, a court Saturday directed police to register a case against Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and others for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of people in "Ram Leela", a lawyer said.

The orders came on a complaint filed by lawyer Pawan Sharma.