Supreme Court nixes plea seeking injunction against release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a special leave petition (SLP) seeking an injunction on the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming film Gangubai Kathiawadi, which will arrive in theatres on 25 February.

The petition, which was filed by a person claiming to be the adopted son of Gangubai Kothewali, the woman on whom the film is based, was heard by a bench of justice Indira Banerjee and justice JK Maheshwari.

The bench was hearing an appeal against the order of the Bombay high court, which had issued a stay on the summons issued by a Mumbai court with regard to the criminal defamation complaint against the producers of the film, lead actress Alia Bhatt and the authors of Mafia Queens of Bombay — the book on which the film is based — S Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges.

In February 2021, the petitioner had filed a plea for an injunction on the release of the film in a Mumbai court, which was dismissed. 

Yesterday, the apex court suggested that the makers change the name of the film, if possible. However, the counsel for the makers argued that with a day to go for the theatrical release, it would be 'impractical' to do so. 

The legal portal Bar & Bench quoted senior advocate Aryama Sundaram, who represented the filmmakers, as stating that the film had been approved by the CBFC [Central Board of Film Certification], and hence required a 'strong reason' from the petitioner to stop its release. 

The counsel for the filmmakers also argued whether the petitioner was indeed the adopted son of Gangubai Kothewali as he claimed to be. Regarding the argument of the film casting the protagonist in a bad light, the website quoted Sundaram saying, "We don't consider it shameworthy if a woman rises above from this background and does something for the society. It is not something to be ashamed of (sic)." 

The counsel also argued that the book by Zaidi and Borges had been published in 2011 and has been in circulation ever since. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi sided with Sundaram, stating that the book was not derogatory and that the statute for defamation abates with the person's death. 

Incidentally, Rohatgi cited Bhansali's earlier film Padmaavat (2018). The Supreme Court had rejected a plea seeking that scenes be cut from the film and refused to prevent its release. The website quoted the senior advocate as saying, "Injunction is an equitable relief and cannot be granted here. There are 2,000 theatres which will run this. Producer, actor, theatre, distributor, all their rights run along with this and depend on the movie theatre tickets." 

The counsel for the petitioner, Rakesh Singh, argued that the film's portrayal affects not only the protagonist but also her family, relatives and friends and termed the book 'defamatory'. 

However, the court demanded that the counsel prove that the petitioner was indeed adopted by Gangubai Kothewali as he claimed before proceeding further. In the absence of any notable evidence, the bench dismissed the petition