Govind Nihalani's Dev in trouble

Haresh Pandya in Rajkot | June 16, 2004 14:01 IST


The first protest against Govind Nihalani's film Dev has risen from Gujarat.

The much talked-about film, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor, has some resemblance to the Gujarat riots that broke out in the aftermath of the gruesome Godhra incident.



Sandeep Chandrasinh Revre, a resident of Rajkot, has filed a case in a Rajkot court against Nihalani for making a film that threatens to ignite communal clashes between two communities.

Revre has requested a stay order that disallows Nihalani to show the film in cinema halls across the country -- 'either by himself, through his agents or distributors; or even on television.'

According to Revre and his counsel Kamlesh Shah, there are many dialogues and scenes in Dev which are sure to hurt the feelings of Hindus as well as Muslims. Some of these dialogues and scenes are so sensitive that they may do great harm to their faith and respect for their respective religions, the petitioners claim.

In response to Revre's petition, Civil Judge D J Shah has issued a notice to Nihalani, asking him to be present in the Rajkot court on Friday, June 18.


http://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/jun/16dev.htm

Didn't think there will be a thread covering Girl Friend as well as Dev.LOL.

Saw this news item about DEV, Girl Friend, Kareena and Amrita Rao.

http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/0 ... d~of~'Dev'

Kareena sees 'Girlfriend' instead of 'Dev'

Guess what? Kareena Kapoor seems to be more excited about the film "Girlfriend" than her own movie "Dev". She went to the premiere of "Girlfriend" with the film's star Amrita Arora and, no, Shahid Kapoor did not accompany her.

The two actresses enjoyed each other's company as they watched the film together. At the same time and at a different venue, "Dev" too was premiered and director Govind Nihalani must have waited for Kareena to arrive. But she was enjoying Amrita's company instead.

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Any guesses, why will a heroine not attend a premiere of her own film and be attending premiere of some other film??

Hindu, Muslim join hands, defend Dev

Haresh Pandya in Rajkot | June 19, 2004 14:45 IST

In a dramatic move, a Hindu and a Muslim have jointly filed a plea in a Rajkot civil court to become party in the case filed by Sandeep Chandrasinh Revar on June 15 against producer-director Govind Nihalani.

Revar had alleged that Nihalani's latest film Dev could hurt the feelings of the two communities and might provoke communal clashes, particularly in Gujarat. He had sought a stay against its screening all over the country.

Under Rule 10 of the Civil Procedure Code Order 1, Suresh Vasoya and Hussainbhai Kachara have sought, through their counsels Dilip Patel and Shailesh Rathod, permission to become a party to the case.

They say 'Revar himself has been trying to arouse communal feelings' by filing the petition, which they say is 'uncalled for'. They have accused him of 'trying to earn cheap publicity'.

"There is peace in Gujarat and people have forgotten the communal riots of two years ago. Both Hindus and Muslims are living in perfect harmony. It seems there is a deliberate effort on the part of the petitioner to disturb the peace and stoke communal feelings.

"Besides, there is nothing objectionable in Dev. Had it been so, the film censor board would not have cleared it in the first place.

"We want to become a party in the case to prove that there are warm feelings between Hindus and Muslims. We appeal to the court to dismiss Revar's petition," say Vasoya and Kachara.

Meanwhile, Revar has filed another plea and sought the court's permission to make the dialogue writers of Dev - Meenakshi Sharma, Nida Fazli and G P Deshpande - also party to the case. The petitioner reiterated that apart from 'violating the rights of an individual, Dev endangers the security of the country' as well.

He is armed with a horde of legal eagles - Kamlesh Shah, Jignesh Shah, Nassir Hala, Rajesh Dal, Suresh Doshi, Jignesh Upadhyaya, Sarfaraz Khan Pathan, Tushar Dhroliya, Mahesh Vala, Nilesh Sheth, Jatin Pandya.

Incidentally, members of the two communities recently had a heated argument over Dev in Mehul Cinema in nearby Jamnagar. The cinema hall authorities were compelled not only to stall the screening but also to refund the money to ticket-holders.

Dev is being screened at Cosmoplex, a multiplex in Rajkot owned by Gujarat Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala. Authorities there have not reported any untoward incident so far.

The Rajkot civil court has adjourned the hearing on both the petitions till June 28. Acting on Revar's earlier petition, Civil Judge D J Shah had ordered Nihalani to remain present in court on June 18. But the latter did not receive the order on time and failed to turn up though he later asked the civil court, through his advocate Magan M Patel, for a copy of the petition.

Dev stars Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Kareena Kapoor and Fardeen Khan.

Rediff.com