Maharashtra state cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar said on August 7 that the I & B ministry had suspended for a month the certification and release of controversial film Khalid Ka Shivaji following the state government’s concerns over historical inaccuracies in it and their potential impact on public order. The film was to release on August 8.
A probe has also started into how the film was chosen for the Cannes Film Festival, the minister said. In April, Shelar had announced that four Marathi films, including Khalid Ka Shivaji, had been selected by a panel of experts appointed by the Maharashtra Film, Theatre and Cultural Development Corporation for the Cannes Film Festival to be held from May 14 to 22. On Khalid Ka Shivaji, in particular, he had said then, “The film highlights the thoughts of young minds and their quest for identity in today’s society.” But on August 7, Shelar said, the state stood with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s followers and history scholars, and would not allow public sentiments to be hurt and history to be distorted. He added, “State requested Centre to cancel the film’s censor certificate and stop its screening. Central agencies issued notices to the producers and director.”
