Nepal court lifts ban on Adipurush, Kathmandu mayor calls it ‘slave of India’; vows to defy order

A Nepal court on Thursday lifted the ban on Hindi films, including Prabhas-starrer Adipurush, asking authorities not to halt the screening of any movie passed by the country's censor board.

A dialogue of Adipurush, in which Sita is mentioned as "India's daughter", had led to the ban on all Hindi films, which was announced by Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah.

Shah on Thursday said he is ready to face any punishment but will not allow the film's screening as the matter pertains to "Nepal’s sovereignty and independence".

A single bench of the Patan High Court judge Dhir Bahadur Chand issued a short term order,



stating that the screening of films that have acquired permission from the censor board should not be stopped.

Bhaskar Dhungana, president of the Nepal Motion Picture Association, told media persons that the petitioners are waiting for a written order from the court.

"Now we will screen all movies passed by the censor board," he said.

Adipurush and other Hindi films were banned in Nepal on Monday following a controversy over its dialogues, including the mention of Sita (played by Kriti Sanon) as "India's daughter". Sita, also referred to as Janaki, is believed by many to have been born in Janakpur in southeast Nepal.