High Court bans 'Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela' in UP

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Allahabad High Court today banned director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic saga "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" in Uttar Pradesh.

The Lucknow bench of the court comprising justices Devi Prasad Singh and Ashok Pal Singh passed the order to ban the film on a petition filed by Maryada Purshottam Bhagwan Ramleela Samiti, Bahraich.

The petitioner had prayed for cancellation of Censor Board certification given to the film on November 1 and sought that controversial and objectionable dialogues be removed from the film.

The film starring Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh was released on November 15.

The petition had contended that the film was hurting religious sentiments of Hindus and its title 'Ramleela' was giving a wrong message to society as Lord Ram's 'leela' (act) had great impact on Indian society.

Besides, Centre, state government, Central Film Certification Board, UP



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Ram-Leela Movie Reviews ***

There’s a lot of everything in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela, almost to a fault. At two hours and 40 minutes, with a song every five minutes, the film seems like bonded labour on paper. And yet, the seemingly countless songs and gigantic running time are not enough to extinguish the fun found here and it still winds up as a smart, funny, frequently exciting love story that is packed with strong performances, solid direction, several colourful characters, and best of all, some tremendous lines. Bhansali’s earlier films have delivered two or three half-hearted attempts at a tragic romance, only to follow the poignant moments up with aimless, wandering plots, set gazing and cheesy acting. Ram Leela, on the other hand, has intensity, fire and energy in every single scene. It’s also laden with a few surprisingly powerful plot contortions that you probably won’t see coming.

Ram Leela has the soul of a cynical old noir peppered with a few small glimmers of masala. We all know the story by now. Borrowing a few pages from Shakespeare’s play and more so from Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, this movie is the epitome of formula. The setting is a crazy ‘Bhansalized’, fantastical trigger happy version of a place in Rajasthan-Gujarat, where a guy and a girl from two rival, constantly-clashing mob gangs fall for each other while the others are spraying bullets and shedding blood. Therein lies the simple appeal of the film, but Bhansali subverts your expectations with some unexpected twists and even a shrewd political turn that makes the film a compelling watch. It helps that the leads Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have terrific chemistry to complement Bhansali’s frenetic direction and the truly gorgeous set pieces. There are many terrific moments strewn throughout Ram Leela, like the ‘Aankhon ki gustkhiyan’ style sequence between the two leads and Bhansali’s rendition of the famous balcony scene. But the reason his movie works is because it’s a lot more than the sum of a few fantastic parts. Even in the opening sequence during which a shootout breaks out, Bhansali finds the faint line between arthouse, commercial and populist. It’s evident that even he’s tired of an industry that’s becoming more and more standardised and heartless with every passing year. He brings a lot more style and passion to a film that, in the hands of a less accomplished commercial Bollywood director, would be a hollow mess. A scene where a bunch of hoodlums pull out their guns and start shooting bottles has the comic irreverence you generally expect in a Vishal Bharadwaj movie, and it offers a glimpse of how commercial Bollywood cinema is capable of tipping the scales, just a bit, in a new direction. Sure there are a few things the film could’ve done without, like three to four songs, and Raza Murad’s hammy cameo, but there are enough goodies in the film (especially the dialogues) to make you overlook the rough spots. The direction, outstanding production design, gorgeous cinematography are supported by a surprisingly strong cast, and Padukone is a wild-eyed anchor in a sea of formula. Three years ago you’d never have expected her to improve so drastically and command the kind of energy she does now. Ranveer, on the other hand, is a weak link. It’s a whole different movie whenever he isn’t in a scene. It’s not that he doesn’t try, but that he tries too hard to chew scenery and he just doesn’t have the effortless charm of someone like Ranbir Kapoor. Their co-stars do a fine job of bringing the typical stereotypes to life – Gulshan Deviah, Richa Chadda, Abhimanyu Singh, Sharad Kelkar each have their own moments and at least a semblance of wit and colour. But Supriya Pathak as a god-fearing matriarchal mob boss is awesome here, with a rascally twinkle that intermittently threatens to turn villainous. Watch the scene early on in the film where she shouts at her fumbling masseuse and you’ll know that she should do more movies. By the time Ram Leela winds down with a finale that would make Luhrmann proud, Bhansali does a pretty good job of winning his intended audience over. It would have been so easy for the film to wallow in opportunistic schmaltz or obvious sentimentality but instead Ram Leela is a slyly fun movie, and one that is best appreciated on big screens.

Ram Leela has oodles of 'oomph' quotient, thanks to our very own Deepika! The film features kissing scenes in plenty! The dialogues can seem a bit 'shocking' and 'bold' for a few as it has double entendre. Admittedly, the movie's writing loses a good deal of steam in the second half, but picks up pace in its final hour. Ranveer-Deepika's visceral chemistry requires a special mention, that sets the screen ablaze.

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FIR against Bollywood movie 'Ram Leela'

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone have moved the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking quashing of the FIR (first-information report) registered against them in Jalandhar. The FIR alleges that the content of their forthcoming movie 'Ram Leela' is highly objectionable and offends religious sentiments of the public believing in Hindu mythology.

The movie is scheduled for release on November 15 and the petition would come up for hearing on Tuesday. An FIR was registered on September 26 at division-3 police station, Jalandhar, on the complaint of Lalit Kumar under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code. The petitioners have also sought stay on the trial court proceedings during the pendency of the petition in the high court.

The petition, filed through advocate Rohit Sud, mentions that on the basis of the same allegations, a public interest litigation filed by NGO Rashtravadi Shiv Sena earlier before the Delhi high court was dismissed on October 10, being devoid of material, with a cost of Rs. 50,000.

The complainant had submitted that the title of 'Ram Leela', its trailer and photographs were highly objectionable and offended religious sentiments of people believing in Hindu mythology. It had been alleged that the story of the film has nothing to do with the life of Lord Ram.

The petitioners have submitted that the film is inspired by William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'. Ram and Leela, in the present case, refer to the names of the two protagonists and thus the title of the movie is justified. Thus, no offence under section 295-A of the IPC is made out. It has been mentioned that the Central Board of Film Certification has granted the certificate under Cinematography Act to the film and therefore it could not be implied that the petitioners had any intention to hurt religious sentiments of any community or religion.

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Sanjay Leela Bhansali Says, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh are fond of each other

The crackling chemistry on screen between the lead pair of Ram-Leela, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, results from the fact that the two actors are fond of each other and enjoyed doing the film together, says director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Ever since the trailer hit the screens, the chemistry between the two has generated a lot of interest, which Bhansali feels will help the film.

"If in a love story, people are liking the chemistry of the hero and heroine and feeling their love then your love story has more chances of succeeding. The chemistry has come out so well on screen and the credit for it goes to the actors as they have got themselves involved into the plot and got into the skin of the character of being in love," Bhansali told PTI in an interview here.

"Whether there is something between them in real life or not is not my concern as a filmmaker.. I am excited to see them together on screen. They have done a wonderful job as actors. And chemistry is a natural vibe, when two people come together there is a vibe that happens or doesn't happen." According to Bhansali, because the two actors are fond of each other and like to act, they enjoyed doing the film.

However, he feels the focus should be the film. "Actors have their personal fans... it is the audience that has to connect to the film.. that is important. Their chemistry does help the film." In Ram-Leela, Bhansali has tried new things like adding a special song of Priyanka Chopra, a passionate kissing scene between the lead actors etc. "One can't keep making same things again and again otherwise it will be boring for me as well as for the audience. So if you do something unexpected I like it and actors also enjoy it. It is important to reinvent to yourself according to time, thinking should change," he said. He insists he did not add these things to make the film more viable commercially.

"It all depends on how you add such things, how it will suit, how you will present it etc. There is nothing that gurantees... what works at box office and what doesn't. These things are new to me so there is excitement. I have never made a sensual love story and more energetic or had a special song," he added. Right from Khamoshi to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam to Guzaarish and the latest Ram-Leela, Bhansali's films have always brought love and passion on screen. The germ of the idea of Ram-Leela came to him when he was making Khamoshi but Bhansali couldn't take up this project due to financial and other reasons.

"I had thought about it (Ram-Leela) after Khamoshi, this film didn't do that well but got critical acclaim. I did not have enough money then to make a film like Ram-Leela. I made Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam which was set in Gujarat so a Ram-Leela would have appeared repetitive at that time. So, I waited for long time," he said. This film is called as desi adaptation of Romeo Juliet and is set in Gujarat. "I am Gujarati at heart I love Gujarat's music, culture and food and I want to take all this back to the people," he added.

The film is special and important to Bhansali and has dedicated it to his mother, whose name he has adopted as his middle name. Releasing on November 15, Bhansali is happy with the response Ram-Leela is getting. "People have liked the promo, songs, love story of Ranveer and Deepika. They are expecting a good love story and they should expect it. The scale is big, it is a colorful film... I am expecting people will like the film," he added.

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Complaint filed against Ram Leela for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments

After getting embroiled into controversy earlier for different reasons, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ambitious film ‘Ram Leela’ is in news for the wrong reasons once again.

On November 7, a resident of Patna filed a plea in a local court demanding a ban on the release of the film. The reason cited by the complainant, Amit Arya, is the depiction of Hindu Gods in “poor taste” in the mujra song ‘Ram Chahe Leela’ performed by Priyanka Chopra.

The complainant has also objected to the title of the film in his appeal. He has also submitted a CD of the film’s trailer to support his plea.

The case was filed in the court of chief judicial magistrate R K Yadav by the complainant’s lawyer Kumar Shankaram, who will hear the plea on November 11.

‘Ram Leela’ is slated for nationwide release on November 15.

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