On Thursday, ANI reported that a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Delhi High Court. The PIL seeks a change in the title of Salman Khan’s upcoming film Bharat, starring him and Katrina Kaif. The petitioner Vikas Tyagi feels that the film is “distorting the culture and political image of our great country ‘bharat’.”
According to Vikash Tyagi, the title of Bharat violates Section 3 of Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act. According to the Act, the word ‘bharat’ cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Further, the petitioner has also asked for one of the dialogues in the film to be changed. In one particular scene, the character is being compared to the country. Vikas feels that this hurts the patriotic sentiment of the country’s people.
Here’s what Vikas told ANI,
“The film is fraught with Salman’s typical flippancy and vulgarity. Being a bharatiya, I feel it’s not appropriate to name such film or any character associated with this film after our great nation.”Vikas Tyagi
Bharat is directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and is scheduled to be released on 5 June. It is a remake of award-winning South Korean film Ode to My Father, which is one of the country’s highest-grossing films. The film also stars Tabu, Jackie Shroff, Disha Patani and Sunil Grover. The film spans about 50 years and traces the history of India through Salman Khan's character. The actor dons various avatars through the film, including that of a stuntman, miner and naval officer, and Katrina Kaif and Disha Patani play his love interests
Originally Priyanka Chopra Jonas was supposed to star in the film. However, due to personal reasons, she had to quit last minute and Katrina Kaif was then asked to step in place of her.
(With inputs from ANI)
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