Aamir Khan and his wife, Kiran Rao, were in a very joyous mood when they went to participate in the Toronto International Film Festival a few days back, and they returned with much applause too for Rao’s directorial debut Dhobi Ghat. The film had its international premiere at this festival.
However, Rao needs to fight a legal case now for the title of her movie Dhobi Ghat. Vinod Kumar Kanojia, the chairman of Hindustan Kanojia Organisation of Dhobis, has claimed that the title of the movie was a sign for making caste division in the dhobi community. He has appealed to the Delhi High Court asking for a change of the title before film releases in theaters.
Kanojia also requested the censor board to assess the film’s title in order to avoid caste division in society. In his petition, Kanojia stated that the movie could have opted for some other title but they have chosen the title to hurt the feelings of the dhobi community. He added that the community was notified as the scheduled caste in the Indian Constitution and it is a punishable offence to call any person by its community name. He further mentioned that the fundamental right of the community is violated by the film’s title and the court must restrain it.
Dhobi Ghat has received high accolades in the recently held Toronto International Film festival and all parties involved would like a resolution to this matter at the earliest. The case is likely to be heard in court on Wednesday. Kanojia alleged that the director and producer of the movie have used the name of the caste just to earn money and it is a very minor and dirty thinking. He said that no one has the right to sell the name of any caste.
