During one of the promotions late last week for his upcoming, flick Anjaana Anjaani, Ranbir Kapoor had voiced his discomfort with the release of the film on 24th September as it was coinciding with the hearing of the sensational ‘Babri Masjid’ case. This was echoed and agreed with by co-star Priyanka Chopra.
“It is an important day for the country. I hope there is no dispute and the decision is favourable to all. Audiences may not be able to go watch the film on that day. With security being deployed in many places it will be practical to postpone the film’s release by a week or so as some may not be able to go watch it,” Ranbir had said in a press conference.
At that point of time, the comment made by Ranbir to the media had not gone down pleasantly with the producers of the film. However, earlier today, producer Sajid Nadiadwala confirmed that having given the matter rational thought and in consultation with the co-producers Eros International, they have decided to move the release of the film to a week later i.e. on October 1st.
As Anjaana Anjaani was the only Bollywood movie slated for release on September 24th, the delay means no movie hits the screen on the coming weekend. This might come as favorable news for Salman Khan and Dabangg team, which gets an extended week at the theatres. On the flip side, October 1st sees Anjaana Anjaani clash with two other mega movies – Rajnikanth/Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Robot and Ajay Devgan-Akshaye Khanna starrer Aakrosh (based on honour killings). Will all three movies get their due at the box office is what we will have to wait and watch.
About the Ram Janmabhoomi vs. Babri Masjid case (this is a brief version of the case. Please refer to the relevant web pages for full information)
Devout Hindus revere Ayodhya as the birthplace of Hindu God Rama. In 1527, when the Mughals defeated the then Hindu King of Ayodhya, they built the Mosque destroying the temple and called it Babri Masjid after the Mughal Emperor Babar. On January 19, 1885 Mahant Raghubar Das filed a suit seeking permission of prayer rights over a ‘chabootra’ (platform) in front of the mosque, which he claimed as birthplace of Ram. His pleas were repeatedly declined, but Mr. Das did not accept defeat.
On December 22 1949, the matter flared up when an idol was put in the middle of the mosque following which hundreds of Hindus barged into it and started prayers. Though the mob was pushed back and a padlock was put on the gates of the mosque building, the idol remained inside. Shortly after, a political party Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) launched nationwide campaign to put the pressure for clearing the way for construction of Ram Mandir. Judge KM Pandey, ordered on February 1, 1986 for unlocking of the gates of Babri Masjid and allowing the devotees to worship the idol inside the mosque. The order led to communal tension between Hindus and Muslims across the country.
As per a preplanned conspiracy, the Babri Masjid was demolished on 6th December 1992 in broad daylight, which was the black day in the history of democratic India. The demolition led to nationwide communal riots, which left several hundred people dead, bringing more shame to the nation. After that central government took as many as 67 acres land in and around Babri Masjid under its custody. However, Supreme Court in 1994 dismissed all interim orders issued by various courts in Ayodhya and directed that the land would remain under the Centre’s custody and status quo must be maintained until the Lucknow bench of the high court gave the judgment in the case being heard by it.
A three-judge special bench of the Allahabad High Court will announce the Ayodhya verdict on Friday, Sep 24.
