After a Nepal court lifted the ban on Hindi films in the country’s capital, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah said on Thursday that he will not follow the order, reported PTI.
The court order came after the mayors of Kathmandu and Pokhara last week directed cinema halls in their cities to stop the screening of all Hindi films. The decision came three days after Shah had warned of imposing the ban unless the makers of Adipurush remove a line from the movie that refers to the mythological character Sita as the “daughter of India”.
Hindus in Nepal believe that Sita was born in the country’s Janakpur city.
The makers of Adipurush have said that the movie is inspired by the Hindu epic Ramayana. The movie, released on June 16, is directed by Om Raut and stars Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Singh and Devdutta Nage.
On Thursday, the Patan High Court lifted the ban, stating that screening of films that have been allowed by the censor board should not be stopped.
Opposing the court order, Shah wrote on Facebook on Thursday that he will not obey any law and order when the question is about the sovereignty and freedom of the country. He also described the court as “India’s slave”.
“When a film writer says that Nepal was under the rule of India, they know their intention,” Shah wrote on Facebook. “...I am ready to face any punishment for this but the movie won’t work and won’t be allowed to run.”
Earlier this month, political leaders in Nepal had objected to a mural interpreted as “Akhand Bharat” or unified India, which has been installed in the new Parliament complex in Delhi.
Nepali politicians had expressed objections to the mural as it showed Lumbini – the birthplace of the founder of Buddhism Gautama Buddha – as part of India. Nepal considers Lumbini as one of the major cultural centres on its map.
Subsequently, Shah had installed a map of “Greater Nepal” in his office in an apparent counter to the mural.
Supporters of “Greater Nepal” believe that the Nepalese territory spread from Teesta river in the eastern Himalayas to Sutlej river in the west. However, both the territories now fall under India after Nepal signed the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816 which led to the demarcation of the international boundary between the two countries.
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