Residents of Kamathipura, a neighbourhood in South Mumbai, have moved the Bombay High Court seeking to remove the references to the area in the film Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Alia Bhatt.
The plea said that the reputation of the area has been lowered after the film’s trailer was released, since the movie makes wild, derogatory allegations by portraying the entire area as a red-light hub.
A Bench led by Justice GS Patel will hear the plea on Wednesday.
The petition filed by a lady resident on behalf of 55 other such residents of Kamathipura, has assailed the Censor Board’s decision to certify film.
The social impact the movie will cause is that all girl residents will be termed prostitutes, be teased and taunted, and families will have to live with lowered dignity, the plea said.
“All cannons of fairness, equity, and justice have been breached and violated,” the petition alleged.
The plea thus sought stay on the release of the film and direction to the Censor Board to remove all reference to use of the name ‘Kamathipura’ in the movie.
A separate public interest litigation (PIL) petition has also been filed by Congress MLA Ameen Patel seeking similar reliefs.
The PIL said the Patel received objections from various quarters, including local social service organisations and the daughter of the film’s protagonist, against the portrayal of the neighbourhood and Gangubhai as a prostitute and alleged ‘mafia queen’.
Residents of Kamathipura, as per media reports, have filed representations objecting to the portrayal of the neighbourhood as a hub of the flesh trade.
The Punarjivan Rahivaasi Seva Mandal, the Akhil Padmashali Samaj, Tiranga Housing Society, Khatik Samaj and other Gujarati trusts wrote to the petitioner against the film, it was pointed out.
This plea will be heard by the bench headed by Chief Justice tomorrow.
The High Court had earlier stayed a criminal defamation complaint against the producers of the film, actress Alia Bhatt and authors S Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges who authored the book on which the film is based.
The defamation complaint filed by one Babuji Shah who claimed to be the adopted son of Gangubai Kathiawadi.
The biographical crime drama is set for theatrical release on Friday, February 25.
