The Delhi High Court on Wednesday heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking removal of the song "Shoorveer" in the climax of the film “Mirzapur: The Movie.”

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia suggested that the petitioner first approach the Central Government, and the CBFC with the grievance.

The PIL raised objections to the alleged use of the song, which was composed as a tribute to 16th-century warrior king Maharana Pratap, as the backdrop to a fight scene in the film.

During the hearing, the petitioner submitted that the film had been released on September 4 and was already in wide circulation, urging the Court to intervene on an urgent basis.

The Chief Justice asked why the petitioner had not approached the Central Government.

The petitioner responded that approaching the Government would take time and that the alleged derogatory use of the song was causing continuing harm due to the film's wide circulation. The petitioner also referred to alleged bureaucratic hurdles.

The Bench, however, said that it was not making any comments on the merits of the plea.

"If it is being done, it is definitely derogatory, but there is freedom of speech," the Chief Justice observed.

The Court further observed that whether the depiction constituted art or not should be decided by the Central Government, since the court was not an expert in the issue.

The petitioner argued that fundamental rights could not come at the cost of the grievance raised in the petition and sought that the issue be decided by the Government within a time-bound period.

The Bench reiterated that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits and asked the petitioner to approach the Government.

The Court also asked counsel appearing for the film's producer whether he had watched the film. The counsel replied that he had not.

The Chief Justice thereafter asked the Producers to watch the film and listed the matter tomorrow,

Background

The plea has been moved by one Prashant Kumar Singh and has been filed through Advocates Shashank and Shashwat.

The PIL contends that the track was originally composed as a revered tribute to historical icon Maharana Pratap. It alleges that the song has been inappropriately used to glorify fictional gangsters.

Singh has submitted that using a song dedicated to a national hero to backdrop cinematic criminals deeply hurts the cultural legacy of the country.

Furthermore, the plea highlights that the original cultural context of the song will be severely distorted if used in the movie, thereby creating a misleading association in the public memory that equates the legacy of Maharana Pratap with fictitious gangsters.

The petition seeks a direction to remove or replace the track from the movie's climax.

It also seeks framing of appropriate guidelines for dealing with the use of songs associated with historically or culturally significant personalities, to ensure that their use in cinematographic works does not result in an undesirable or misleading association with criminal, anti-social or otherwise contrary conduct, while duly balancing the freedom of artistic and creative expression.

Title: PRASHANT KUMAR SINGH v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS