Paharganj, produced by Prakash Bhagat, has come under fire as the residents, traders and the RWA have staged a protest against the movie.
Direction: Rakesh Ranjan Kumar | Cast: Lorena Franco, Bijesh Jayarajan, Neet Chowdhary, Rajeev Gaursingh, Karran Jeet
Over the years, Bollywood films have faced the wrath of fanatics in the form of protests and vandalism time and again. Now, an up and coming film, Paharganj, produced by Prakash Bhagat, has come under fire as the residents, traders and the RWA have staged a protest against the movie. From raising slogans against the movie or burning the effigy of the director, the residents have taken a staunch stand against the depiction of the locality in the movie.
However, the producer, Prakash Bhagat shared that the movie is a fictional story that revolves around a Spanish woman who comes to Paharganj in the search of her lost love. He added that "the film's intent is in no way to embarrass, humiliate or agonize the residents, RWA, the traders of Paharganj or the viewers. It is a fictional story which is shot in the lanes of Paharganj and not based on any persons living in or visiting the locality." The production house also shares that the legal notice and the protest against the movie are not justifiable as they impress on the issue that the content of the film is causing issues in their personal and professional life, which cannot be true as the content of the film is indeed promoting the locality and the tourism of the area.
Speaking about the course of action, the producer said that "when the time is right, we will meet the Residents Welfare Association members and will brief them about the film and the misconception they have drawn by watching the trailer and the other videos are not true." He added that the entire film is fictional and the RWA or traders should not have even an iota of doubt that at any point of time, "the film has shown any business or people living in Paharganj in the bad light."
The makers also added that they are flabbergasted by the protest as they have not expected such reaction from the locals. They added that the residents were welcoming and provided warm reception during the entire shooting session. The producers also condemn the protest and added that "the RWA cannot malign the film as they have not seen the movie yet. The movie revolves around mostly the story of a Spanish woman and other characters in the film." In the producer's own words, "the movie will release on April 12 and there will be no delay in presentation." The trailer of the movie was released on March 14, 2019, and is available on SENN Productions youtube channel. The music is available on Sony Music India youtube and on all music streaming sites.
