Sara Ali Khan’s debut, Kedernath, opposite Sushant Singh Rajput, appears to have run into yet another roadblock.
After the trailer was released last week, priests based in Kedarnath staged a protest and demanded a blanket ban on the film, claiming that the film promotes love jihad. And in a recent turn of events, the organisation of the priests, Kedar Sabha, has sent a written plea to the makers — producer Ronnie Screwvala and director Abhishek Kapoor — urging them to rechristen the love story, Mid-day has reported.
Set against the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, the film is a romance saga between an upper-class Hindu pilgrim (Khan) and a Muslim porter (Rajput). The idea of a romance between the two youngsters belonging to different religions in the holy town, hasn’t gone down well with the priests. Moreso, a kissing sequence between the leads has sparked more outrage.
The priests’ body has also urged the team to arrange a special screening for them before its release, thus allowing them to ensure that it doesn’t hurt religious sentiments.
NP Jamloki, executive officer of Kedar Sabha, said, “We had no idea about the film’s plot before we saw the trailer. Some of the scenes in the promo are objectionable.”
“It’s disappointing to see the film bearing the name of a religious place with a story that could be hurtful to the community. We request the makers to change the title as to not mislead the audience about the sanctity of the shrine. We would prefer if they show the film to the temple committee.”
“Fiction can’t be so far-fetched. The story raises questions on the social dynamics of the place,” Jamloki concluded.
The makers of the film have not yet commented on the matter.
