Film on Aarushi: Parents seek stay on release

Censor Board had filed an affidavit stating that there are no similarities between the movie and the murder incident

Dentist couple Nupur and Rajesh Talwar, serving life sentence for murdering their teenage daughter Aarushi, today refuted claims of the Censor Board that the soon to be released film 'Rahasya' has no similarity to her murder and sought stay on its release till their appeal is heard and decided by the Allahabad High Court.

The Talwars had approached the Bombay High Court against release of the movie, directed by Manish Gupta and produced by UVI Films Production Ltd, on the ground that the film is based on "distorted facts surrounding the gruesome death" of their daughter Aarushi.

After the Censor Board filed an affidavit stating that there are no similarities between the movie and the murder incident, the couple sought the producer and director to arrange for a family member to see the movie. The movie was screened last month for a family member.

Talwars' advocate Anushak Davar today told a division bench of Justices V M Kanade and A K Menon that there are glaring similarities between the movie's story and the Aarushi case.

"The censor board has only spoken about the dissimilarities between the two. But there are over 100 similarities which they have not bothered to put on affidavit. Except for a few scenes in the end of the movie the story is the same as the murder incident of Aarushi," Davar said.

He sought a stay on the release of the movie pending hearing of the Talwars' appeal before the Allahabad High Court. "The appeal and their bail plea is posted for hearing on April 17. We are not seeking complete ban on the movie's release but only till the appeal is heard and decided," Davar said.

The bench has now posted the petition for hearing on April 17.

The Talwars petitioned the High Court after the Central Board of Film Certification granted U/A certificate to the movie in January this year.

On the intervening night of May 15 and 16, 2008, Aarushi and the Talwars' house help Hemraj were found murdered at their residence in Noida near Delhi.

The Talwars were convicted by a sessions court in Ghaziabad in November last and sentenced to life imprisonment. Their appeal against conviction is pending before the Allahabad High Court.

According to the Talwars, the movie would ridicule and create an atmosphere against them in public mind. "It would paint the petitioners in a wrong light and would be defamatory," the petition said.