Balen challenges Court’s decision; Stubborn to halt the release of Hindi movies

Kathmandu: The mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has said that the screening of Hindi films will not be allowed in the metropolis under any circumstances.

Mayor Balendra Shah threatened not to obey the court’s order for the screening of Hindi Films. ‘I am not going to obey any law or court when it comes to the sovereignty and independence of the country,’ he wrote on Facebook.

The mayor argued that Nepalis should not remain silent in such a context when even the author of the controversial film Aadipurush said that Nepal was under India’s control.

‘Their intent becomes clear when movie writer says Nepal was under India. The Government of Nepal may call it a stunt, and the court instructing to allow screening of film means Nepal was under India, and the court and the government are subservient to India,’ Balen further wrote Thursday on the social media, ‘I am ready to face any punishment, but the film will not be screened or allowed to be screened.’

His remarks come after Patan High Court issued an interim order against KMC’s decision to ban screening of Hindi movies inside KMC.

Earlier on Wednesday, Nepal Motion Picture Association, an umbrella organization of cinema hall operators, had filed the petition at the Patan High Court.

KMC Mayor Balen Shah, City Police, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Ministry of Communication and Information Technology had been made defendants in the petition.

KMC mayor announced a ban on screening of Hindi movies from Monday until the dialog ‘Janaki is the daughter of Bharat’ was removed from Aadipurush.

But the movie producer and the Film Censor Board, Nepal have already said that the movie does not contain any such dialog.