SC says ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ title may denigrate community, hearing on Feb 19

The Supreme Court on Thursday objected to the title of filmmaker Neeraj Pandey’s upcoming film Ghooskhor Pandat , saying it appeared to denigrate a section of society and could affect morality and public order.

A Bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing a PIL seeking a stay on the release of the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer film on Netflix. The court remarked, “Why should you denigrate a section of society by using such a title? This is against morality and public order,” and directed the filmmaker to disclose a changed title before release.

Notices were issued to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting , the CBFC , and Neeraj Pandey. The court also asked Pandey to file an affidavit stating that the film does not defame any community. The matter will be heard again on February 19 .

The PIL, filed by Atul Mishra of the Brahman Samaj of India, alleged that the film promotes caste and religious stereotyping and portrays the Brahmin community in a derogatory manner by using the word “Pandat” alongside “Ghooskhor”, which denotes bribery and moral corruption.

The film, announced recently by Netflix in Mumbai, stars Manoj Bajpayee , Nushrat Bharuccha , Saqib Saleem , Akshay Oberoi , and Divya Dutta .