As per reports, the Delhi High Court on February 9, 2018 refused to entertain a PIL to stop the filming of a biopic on Army Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, who was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for gallantry during the 1962 Sino-Indian war.
The PIL was filed by Advocate Samrendra Kumar against Sandhya Entertainment & Ors [WP(C) 1216/2018]. The plea had raised objection to the portrayal of the jawan by an actor who is accused in a rape case and I out on bail. The plea sought stopping of the shooting on the ground that a rape accused, out on bail, was portraying the role of the Army legend and that no consent had been taken from Rawat’s family or the Ministry of Defence to make the biopic.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said that the court cannot decide who will play what role in a film. It also observed that there was no law that said a person out on bail cannot portray a soldier or a legend and asked the petitioner, Samrendra Kumar, to withdraw the plea and, instead, move a representation before the ministry.
The petition said rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat sacrificed his life for the nation in the 1962 Sino-Indian war.
As per the information available in the media, there seem to be two films being made on the Army legend. One by producer Sishir Tiwari of Sandhya Entertainment and the other by producer Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The PIL in this instant case seems to be with respect to the former film.
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