Pune Civil Court recently summoned actor Akshaye Khanna and the producers of the upcoming film Section 375 for allegedly showing lawyers in negative light. Akshaye, along with producers Kumar Mangal Pathak and Abhishek Mangal Pathak, has been asked to appear before the court on September 9. It all started after an advocate filed a petition in the court, claiming the movie's trailer and promos portays court procedures in a wrong way. According to the reports, the petitioner also slammed the makers over a scene in the film, in which advocates are seen taking cross-statements of a rape survivor and openly asking her objectionable questions in the courtroom. The advocate stated that "such cross-statements are never recorded in an open court but only in-camera".
Now reacting to the legal trouble that Section 375 has got into, Akshaye told a leading daily, "We live in a free country. So if someone feels that he has a valid objection, he has the right to complain about it to the platform where he thinks his problem can be addressed. The issue with a legal matter is that anything that I say can have an effect on the film."
Directed by Ajay Bahl, the film is based on Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. In the movie, Richa Chadha plays a public prosecutor fighting to get justice for her client, who claims she was raped by a filmmaker (played by Rahul Bhatt), being defended by Akshaye's character in court. When asked about the delictae subject of the film, Akshaye revealed, "The intention primarily is to entertain. A subject like this is bound to raise a discussion or debate. I don't know to what extent the film will be watched, but if it encourages a conversation, it's good," says the actor, adding that the subject has been treated with sensitivity." He signed off by saying that their film doesn't take a stand at all but takes you through a case and shows the different perspectives of the society, judges and lawyers. And according to him, if a film doesn't take a stand, the audience is compelled to form an opinion.
The film is slated to release on September 13.
(Source: Mid-Day/with inputs from IANS)
