The four men booked for organising and screening the 1992 documentary film ‘Ram Ke Naam’ were enlarged on bail by the local court on Sunday, confirmed the Rachakonda police.
Anand Singh, 45, and Parag Verma, 41, the organisers from ‘Hyderabad Cinephiles’ and the owners of the venue Marley’s Joint in Defence Colony of Sainikpuri — Vulli Srujan Raj Goud, 28, and D.V. Soumith Reddy, 29, were arrested by the Neredmet police on January 20.
“They were arrested following a complaint from a group that claimed that the organisers have allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community. They also alleged that the group watching the film made derogatory statements against Hindu religion,” said the Inspector of Neredmet police, J. Srinivas.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the organisers from Hyderabad Cinephiles said, “The screening hadn’t even reached the midpoint when around 10 people entered and disrupted the programme. They were pointing their fingers at the organisers and participants yelling, stating that it’s illegal to screen this movie and that their religious sentiments were hurt.”
“They tried to pull and tear the screen, and abused the organisers. The organisers tried to explain that it’s not a banned movie and it’s available on YouTube, but in vain. The film got a U-Censor certificate in 1992 (for unrestricted public exhibition). The Bombay High Court ruled that it should be telecast on prime time Doordarshan. But despite all the facts provided by the organisers, the police took the organiser, participants and the cafe owner to the Neredmet police station,” they said.
