Kathmandu: Screening of Hindi films resumed in the country on Friday, days after they were banned following a controversy over ‘Adipurush’ dialogues calling goddess Sita the ‘daughter of India’. In Kathmandu, several cinema halls have started screening Hindi films except ‘Adipurush’, which continues to be banned.
Sara Ali Khan and Vicky Kaushal starrer Hindi film ‘Zara Hatke, Zara Bachke’ was screened at multiplex QFX Cinema located in the city’s Sundara. The Nepal Motion Picture Association said in a statement that all Nepali and foreign films except “Adipurush” would be screened from Friday.
Read also: Adipurush box office collection: Prabhas starrer crosses Rs 400 crore mark worldwide
A dialogue in ‘Adipurush’, which refers to Sita as the ‘daughter of India’, led to a ban on all Hindi films, which was announced by Balendra Shah, the mayor of Kathmandu. Sita, also known as Janaki, is believed by many to have been born in Janakpur in southeast Nepal.
On Thursday, a single bench of Justice Dhir Bahadur Chand of the Patan High Court issued a short-term order, saying that screening of films that have been cleared by the censor board should not be stopped. “We have been of the view that no one is above the nation and nationality. It is our fundamental right to engage in our business freely following the Nepalese law,” the bench said.
The same day, Shah said that he was ready to face any punishment but would not allow the screening of ‘Adipurush’ as the matter is related to the “sovereignty and independence of Nepal”.