Jaat director Gopichand Malineni reacts to FIR on church scene: We deeply regret it...

Jaat director addresses church scene controversy

Just a few days after its April 10 release, Jaat, the Bollywood debut of director Gopichand Malineni, has become embroiled in controversy. An FIR has been filed against multiple team members after the movie, which starred Sunny Deol and Randeep Hooda, sparked criticism over a specific scene that allegedly offended religious sentiments.

In a recent interview with Mid-Day, Gopichand addressed the issue directly. The scene in question features Randeep Hooda and his group threatening people inside a church, with the actor standing in front of a crucifix — an image that has sparked outrage among sections of the Christian community.

Speaking on the matter, Gopichand explained, “The censor board didn’t mention anything for the trailer cut, but later, it told us to blur the background in the film print. It was done even before people objected. If a film has to be a blockbuster, it has to be watched by as many people as possible. No filmmaker wants to hurt any people or community. We want to entertain them.”

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In response to the public outcry, the makers of Jaat issued an official statement confirming the immediate removal of the scene in question. “There has been a backlash for a specific scene in the film. The scene has been removed from the film with immediate effect. Our intention was not to hurt any religious sentiments. We deeply regret it and have taken a quick action of deleting the scene from the film. We sincerely apologise to everyone whose beliefs have been hurt,” read the statement.

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The film is accused in the Jalandhar FIR of "containing scenes that disrespect Jesus Christ and Christian religious practices," according to PTI. Viklav Gold, the complainant, also took issue with the movie's release date, which fell during the revered Holy Week. As per Sanjeev Kumar, SHO of Jalandhar Cantonment Police Station, the FIR — filed under section 299 — names actors Sunny Deol, Randeep Hooda, and Vineet Kumar, along with director Gopichand Malineni and producer Naveen of Mythri Movie Makers.