Ghooskhor Pandat maker Neeraj Pandey withdraws film's title after Supreme Court hearing on February 19

The upcoming project, starring Manoj Bajpayee, had drawn judicial scrutiny over its title.

• Neeraj Pandey withdraws "Ghooskhor Pandat" as per SC order
• All promotional material under the old title has been removed
• Supreme Court says film title must not offend any community

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In the latest development surrounding the controversy over Netflix film Ghooskhor Pandat, producer-director Neeraj Pandey has formally withdrawn the film’s original title, along with all promotional material released under it, in compliance with directions issued by the Supreme Court of India.

cAccording to ANI, Pandey submitted an affidavit before the apex court stating that the earlier title has been unequivocally dropped. He also informed the court that although a new title has not yet been finalised, it will not resemble or evoke the withdrawn one.

In his affidavit, Neeraj stated, “I respectfully submit that the earlier title, “Ghooskhor Pandit", stands unequivocally withdrawn and shall not be used in any manner whatsoever. While the new title has not yet been finalised, I undertake that any title that may be identified and adopted shall not be similar to, or evocative of, the earlier title in respect of which objections were raised, and shall accurately reflect the narrative and intent of the film without giving rise to unintended interpretations…I also state that all promotional material, posters, trailers and publicity content under the earlier title have already been withdrawn, prior to the listing of the present petition”.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the filmmakers to change the film’s title, observing that it was denigrative of a particular community. The court further ordered that any material in the film that denigrates or is offensive to any community must be withdrawn.

During the hearing, the bench underscored that freedom of expression does not extend to insulting any section of society. On Thursday, the apex court had sharply criticised Pandey over the title of his movie 'Ghooskhor Pandat'.

A bench comprising Justices B. V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing a plea seeking a stay on the release of the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer on Netflix. The court issued notices to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Central Board of Film Certification, and Neeraj Pandey.

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"Why should you denigrate a section of society by using such a title. Freedom of expression is one thing. That doesn’t give license to denigrate anybody. This is against morality and public order. We will not allow you to release the film unless you tell us the changed title...We thought filmmakers, journalists, etc are responsible people," the bench said.

The top court had also directed Pandey to file an affidavit affirming that the film 'Ghooskhor Pandat' does not denigrate any section of society.

The film, directed by Neeraj Pandey, features Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role alongside Nushrat Bharuccha, Saqib Saleem, Akshay Oberoi, and Divya Dutta.