Screening of Indian Films To Be Halted in Kathmandu Metropolitan City from Monday; Mayor Takes Firm Stance
Starting tomorrow, the screening of Indian films in theaters within Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) will be halted. Mayor Balen Shah's Secretariat has informed that city police have been deployed and instructed to stop the showing of Hindi films.
Following Mayor Shah's instructions, city police will visit all theaters by Sunday evening to instruct them not to screen Indian films. Consequently, the screening of Indian films will be discontinued in all halls of Kathmandu metropolis starting tomorrow. The city police will be deployed today for this purpose, as stated by the secretariat. Kathmandu metropolis consists of 17 movie halls across its 32 wards.
Earlier, KMC Mayor Balen had taken a firm stance by issuing a warning that no Hindi films will be allowed to run in Kathmandu. The announcement had come through a post on his Facebook page, where Mayor Shah expressed his concerns regarding a specific film controversy.
In his social media post, Mayor Shah had written, "Until the inclusion of 'Janaki is an Indian daughter' in the South Indian film 'Adipurus' is rectified, not only in Nepal but also in India, no Hindi films will be allowed to run in Kathmandu Metropolitan." This statement reflects his demand for the correction to be made not only locally but also at the source of the film production.
To emphasize the seriousness of the matter, Mayor Shah had provided a three-day ultimatum for the necessary changes to be implemented. The ultimatum puts pressure on the filmmakers to address the contentious issue promptly.
As of Sunday evening, the filmmakers have not made the necessary correction to the dialogue. In contrast, Manoj Muntashir, the film's lyricist and writer, attempted to create the misconception that Janaki is a daughter of India by stating that Nepal was a part of India before 1903.
Mayor Shah also sent a letter to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on Friday, requesting them to stop screening Indian films in Nepal if the objectionable dialogue is not rectified.
