A local court has issued arrest warrants against director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, actors Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra, six months after the release of "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela".
The order was issued on Friday in relation to a case, which alleged that a few scenes in the film hurt religious sentiments of a community.
Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) SP Singh ordered Mumbai Police Commissioner on Friday to arrest the actors and the director of the film, and produce them in court on 4 June, Press Trust of India reported.
Last year in November, advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the court, stating that a few scenes in the film hurt the religious sentiments of a community.
The arrest warrant was based on the PIL filed by Ojha. On 14 February, CJM took notice of the case and summoned the actors and the director. But since the actors and director did not turn up, CMJ issued arrest warrants against them.
"Ram-leela", starring Padukone and Singh in the lead, was released on 15 November worldwide. The film, directed by Bhansali, is a desi version of Shakespeare's classic "Romeo and Juliet".
The film landed in some controversy before its release last year. Members of Rajput community filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Gujarat High Court, stating that the film portrayed their community in a negative light.
During the promotion campaign of the film, Padukone had visited Ahmedabad to attend a garba function, where a group of people were waiting to throw eggs and tomatoes at her. However, the actress managed to escape public embarrassment at the event. [Read the full story here]
After drawing much anger from the Rajput community, the film faced trouble over its title as well. Delhi court had ordered to stop the release of the film, based on the complaints filed by petitioners, including a Hindu group.
The film, originally titled "Ram-leela", was released only after the title was changed to "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela".
