Case against director on song 'hurting religious sentiments'

Hyderabad/Kochi: Police today registered a case against the director of a forthcoming Malayalam film over a complaint that the lyrics of a song in “Oru Adaar Love” hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims. The complainants alleged that the song “Manikya Malaraya poovi” in the film written and directed by Omar Lulu had an “objectionable” reference to Prophet Muhammad’s wife.

The complaint was filed at the Falaknuma police station here by businessman Zaheer Ali Khan, engineering student Muqeeth Khan and others. Zaheer Khan alleged that the song’s lyrics hurt the sentiments of Muslims and demanded that either the song be removed from the film or its words be changed.

After the news of the FIR spread, the movie’s crew members had said the song would be withdrawn. However, Lulu and Music Director Shan Rehman held a press conference late night in Kochi to state that they had decided to include the song in the movie as they were getting overwhelming support from the entire Kerala society.

“The song will not be withdrawn for the time being. It will be part of the movie. There are eight more songs in the film,” Lulu said. Lulu and Rehman said they were tense after getting some phone calls over the song this afternoon. Lulu claimed the song had no objectionable reference and said Muslims in a part of Kerala had been singing it for over four decades.

“The song written by C M A Jabbar is sung during marriages and every celebration in Malabar region of North Kerala. Malabar Muslims have been singing this song since 1978. If it was not objectionable then, how has it become objectionable now?” Lulu said. He told PTI that it was for the censor board to take a final call on the matter.

“We have changed only its music and not the lyrics,” he said.  A clip from the song, featuring actor Priya Prakash Varrier, has gone viral on social media sites. The complainants, however, said they had not mentioned the actor’s name in their representation before the police. “We don’t have any objection against the actors,” Zaheer Khan said.

The police said it had registered a case. “Following the complaint, we took legal opinion and subsequently a case under IPC section 295A (hurting religious sentiments) has been registered against the film’s director, Omar Lulu,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Falaknuma division) Syed Fayaz told PTI.

As part of their investigation, the police will take the opinion of some Islamic clerics on this after getting a translation of the song, he said. “We will proceed based on their opinion… If the song has really hurt the sentiments then definitely action will be initiated against those involved,” the ACP said. The film is slated to be released later this year.