CHANDIGARH: The Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs today constituted a 21-member Sikh Censor Board to clear movies relating to Sikh religion.
This board will include representatives of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Sant Samaj, Sikh sects and other sikh institutions, sikh historians and intellectuals, religious personalities and filmmakers.
Permission of this board will be mandatory for the script for every filmmaker before making a film related to Sikh religion. The Akal Takht would give final approval to the movie on the recommendation of this panel.
Dr Roop Singh Chief Secretary of SGPC said, "the Akal Takht has constituted the sikh censor board, as the CBFC does not adhere to values and ethics of sikh community not they take any sikh representative as their member." When asked is it legally tenable, he said, "we will not allow any movie to be released which has anything to do with Sikhs till it is cleared by our board."
"I welcome the formation of this board, it would ensure that standard norms are worked which could possibly be applied for such matters." Legally it (Akal Takht) cannot intervene in the movies as there is CBFC, but it will have a positive effect as it would work out parameters which it expects from films producers and which film makers should adhere too. Now what is happening that the SGPC is in a conflict with film makers on film to film basis and thus it’s yard stick varies,’’ says Kuldeep Singh a political analyst.
The latest controversy erupted last month over the film Nanak Shah Fakir as it portrays the life of Guru Nanak Dev founder of sikh religion. In last few years the other movies which have run in trouble with the akal takht and SGPC include an animated historical film on the sacrifices of the sons of the tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh `Chaar Sahibzaade’ produced in 2014.
Then another movie `The Messenger of God’ produced in 2015 by controversial godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh chief of Dera Sacha Sauda (now he is jail on charges of rape). In 2008 Akshay Kumar starrer 'Singh is King', the same year another film 'Son of Sardar' in which Ajay Devgan played the main lead and not to forget 'Jo Bole So Nihal' which came in 2005 and in the lead role was Sunny Deol his another movie 'Singh Saab the Great’ ran in trouble in 2013 with SGPC.