A plea has been filed against the makers of Ranveer Singh-starrer Jayeshbhai Jordaar, which is set for a theatrical release on May 13, over a prenatal sex determination scene shown in the trailer. The hearing of the petition has been scheduled for Friday morning.
The plea, filed by an NGO named Youth Against Crime, at the Delhi High Court states that though the film is based on the issue of female foeticide and promotes the ‘save the girl child’ cause, its trailer advertises the use of ultrasound technology for sex selection, which is restricted under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994.
The Act prohibits the use of prenatal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of sex determination.
Talking to Silverscreen India, lawyer and social activist Pawan Prakash Patha, who filed the plea, says the motive is to get the scene in question removed, before the film releases. “In the trailer, there is a scene where a pregnant lady is undergoing an ultrasound to determine the sex of the unborn child. It is about this particular scene that we have approached the court, because section 22 of the PCPNDT Act prohibits advertisements relating to pre-natal determination of sex.”
“The CBFC certification has already been given to the film with zero cuts. So, we want the CBFC to delete that particular scene prior to the film’s release. If the same does not happen, we plan on filing an interim stay on the release of the film,” he further adds.
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Written and directed by Divyang Thakkar, Jayeshbhai Jordaar stars Singh as the son of a traditional Gujarati sarpanch. The film deals with the issue of equal rights for women in society, and conversations around the perceived necessity for a male child to carry on a family’s legacy. It also stars Shalini Pandey, while Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah play supporting roles. Jayeshbhai Jordaar is produced by Aditya Chopra and Maneesh Sharma under the Yash Raj Films banner.