Priya Singh Paul at a press conference. | AFP

Sanjay Gandhi's alleged daughter 's plea seeking stay on ‘Indu Sarkar’ to be heard by Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court will hear a petition filed by Priya Singh Paul, who claims to be the biological daughter of Sanjay Gandhi, to put a stay on the release of Madhur Bhandarkar’s new film.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court will hear a petition filed by Priya Singh Paul, who claims to be the biological daughter of Sanjay Gandhi, to put a stay on the release of Madhur Bhandarkar’s new film Indu Sarkar on Monday (July 24).

“The film is scheduled to release on Friday (July 28) and hence the petition needs to be heard as early as possible,” Paul’s lawyer Tanveer Nizam had told the court.

The petition wants the filmmaker to explain the facts and fiction in the film and delete the factual portion. It also seeks to set aside Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)’s certificate granted to the film for its release.

“Bhandarkar had in a television debate said that the film is 30 per cent fact and 70 percent fiction. He should edit the film and delete the 30 per cent part,” demanded the petition.

CBFC has granted U/A certificate to the film after ordering 12 cuts, which have been complied with.

Paul’s petition was produced on 21 July before a division bench headed by Justice Anoop Mohta.

Bhandarkar had recently said that he would put a disclaimer in Indu Sarkar, stating that the film is mostly fictional.

The movie – Indu Sarkar - deals with the controversial state of emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975. It came under heavy criticism by Congress leaders after the release of its promos. Two of Bhandarkar’s promotional events for the film in Pune and Nagpur had to be cancelled earlier this week due to protests by Congress workers.

Priya Singh Paul (48) claims she was adopted as a baby and was told only after she grew up that her biological father was Sanjay Gandhi, who died in a plane crash in 1980. Sanjay, was the son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, wielded tremendous influence on the administration in the extremely hostile political environment just before and soon after the emergency.