FIR Against ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ Team Over Film's Name; Promotional Materials Taken Down
New Delhi: Police in Lucknow have registered an FIR against the directors of the upcoming film Ghooskhor Pandat over allegations that its title – translating to ‘bribetaker Pandit’ – is intended to insult Brahmins and ‘spread animosity’ in society, while director Neeraj Pandey took down promotional materials for the movie saying it must be experienced in its ‘full context’.
Per a communique by the Lucknow police it is alleged that the film's title is “intended to target and insult a particular caste or community”, i.e. Brahmins, and has “sparked widespread anger and outrage” among the community. Prime facie, the movie's team wished to “spread animosity” and “disturb peace and harmony”, it was also alleged.
“Strictest action will be taken under the zero tolerance policy against elements who hurt the sentiments of any community or disturb the peace,” the police said on Friday (February 6).
Scheduled for release on Netflix, Ghooskhor Pandat stars Manoj Bajpayee and Nushrratt Bharuccha among others and is about a corrupt policeman chancing upon an ‘international conspiracy’, per IMDb.
Amid criticism of the film's title, director Neeraj Pandey said on Friday morning that its team “genuinely acknowledge[s]” grievances against its name and that they had decided to take down promotional materials for the movie as it “should be experienced in its entirety and understood in the context of the story we intended to tell, rather than judged on partial glimpses”.
The term Pandat “is used simply as a colloquial name for a fictional character”, and the movie “focusses on an individual's actions and choices” and “does not comment on or represent” any particular community, Pandey wrote in a statement.
Bajpayee, who said he respects and takes seriously the “emotions and concerns people have shared”, echoed Pandey's statement on Friday and said the fact that promotional materials were removed “reflects the seriousness with which the concerns are being taken”.
Earlier, National Human Rights Commission member Priyank Kanoongo on Wednesday had said that the film's title is among those that “target castes and communities, embarrassing them through criticism and ridicule”, and that the watchdog would issue notice in the matter.
Enmity fostered by titles and movies like this one “is a form of psychological violence that appears to pose a risk of disrupting public order and harming human life”, he added in a post on X. PTI reported that the commission issued notice to the information and broadcasting ministry in view of a complaint alleging that the film “promotes negative stereotypes” and “vilifies a recognised social group”.
One Mahender Chaturvedi filed a petition in the Delhi high court against Netflix and the Union government seeking a stay on Ghooskhor Pandat's release, arguing that he anticipated “large-scale harm to dignity and reputation of the Brahmin community” and that the government had failed to create an effective regulatory system, LiveLaw reported.
Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati also called for a ban on the movie and supported the Lucknow police's FIR. “It is a matter of great sorrow and concern that … ‘Pandit’ is being portrayed as a bribe-taker … leading to the insult and disrespect of them across the entire country,” she said in a statement.
Vishva Hindu Parishad spokesperson Vinod Bansal called on Netflix to apologise lest “Hindu society … be forced to take democratic action against your such repeated attempts”. The film's name attacks “the most respectable segment of our hindu society”, he claimed on X.
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