New Delhi, June 08: The dominance of ‘Khap Panchayats (caste councils) and their role in honour killing incidents in the villages of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, has inspired a new Bollywood film.
Produced and directed by Ajai Sinha, the film stars Om Puri,Yuvika Chaudhary, Govind Namdeo, Mohnish Behl and Manoj Pahwa and is slated to hit the big screen in August this year.
“Honour killings incidents have been dominating newspapers for some time. Such things are happening within 50kms of the national capital. I want to bring this issue out.
Although my story is a fictional account, it is inspired by real incidents,” Sinha told PTI. Sinha, who has earlier directed serials like ‘Astitva’ and ‘Ghar Ek Sapna’, made his directorial debut in Bollywood with the film ‘Stop’.
“Om Puri plays the head of a Khap, Govind plays a staunch believer while Manoj plays a father whose daughter becomes a victim of honour killing,” said Sinha.
Khap Panchayats are a system of social administration prevalent mostly in villages of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. They have been in the news recently for their strong opposition towards marriage within the same ‘gotra’ and have demanded an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act for the purpose.
Although the director insists that the film is not based on any particular incident of honour illing, it borrows from the numerous cases reported in the newspapers and also comes with a message.
“The film shows how the villagers are staunch in their belief and do not allow even the government to bring any change in their society. They might not agree with marriage within the same gotra but that doesn’t give them the license to kill,” said Sinha.
The director has portrayed the younger generation in the film as the harbingers of hope, who have their own belief and opinions on the subject.
“There is a real-life-inspired character of a professor in the film, who teaches his students what is right. The younger generation has its own opinions and the message of the film is delivered through them,” said Sinha.
Although he is dealing with a sensitive subject, Sinha is not scared of creating controversies or angering a certain section of society with his movie.
Shooting for the film is almost complete with just the song sequences left. The director is aiming for a August release.