SC disposes of plea against ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’; filmmaker withdraws contested title

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a plea challenging the title of the upcoming Netflix crime thriller ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ after filmmaker Neeraj Pandey informed the court that the title had been withdrawn along with all related publicity material.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan took Pandey’s affidavit on record and said it expected there would be a quietus to the controversy “in all respects”.
The plea was filed by Atul Mishra, national organisation secretary of the Brahman Samaj of India, seeking a stay on the release of the film.

In his affidavit, Pandey stated that although the new title of the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer has not yet been finalised, it would not resemble the earlier name.

"I respectfully submit that the earlier title, 'Ghooskhor Pandit', stands unequivocally withdrawn and shall not be used in any manner whatsoever.

"While the new title has not yet been finalised, I undertake that any title that may hereafter be identified and adopted shall not be similar to, or evocative of, the earlier title in respect of which objections were raised and shall accurately reflect the narrative and intent of the film without giving rise to unintended interpretations," Pandey said.

He further stated, "I further state that the film is a reformative, fictional police drama. The principal photography has been completed and the film is still at the editing stage. As a result, the film has not been released. I also state that all promotional material, posters, trailers and publicity content under the earlier title have already been withdrawn prior to the listing of the present petition."

During the hearing, Justice Nagarathna observed, "There was nothing wrong with the word 'Pandit', but 'Pandit' with 'Ghooskhor'. We have a problem with the second word, not the first word." Counsel for Pandey submitted that all trailers, posters and promotional material released under the disputed title had already been taken down.

The affidavit reiterated that the new title would accurately reflect the narrative and intent of the film without leading to unintended interpretations.

"I state categorically and unequivocally that neither I nor my production house had any deliberate or malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India.

"I further state that the film does not insult or attempt to insult any religion or community or the religious beliefs of any class of citizens of India, whether by words, visual depiction, title, promotional material, electronic means, or otherwise," Pandey said.

He added that following concerns raised after the release of the film’s teaser on February 3, the promotional material was withdrawn on February 6.

"I say that the film is a fictional police drama that revolves around a criminal investigation. The film does not portray any caste, religion, community, or sect as corrupt," the producer said.

On February 12, the apex court had expressed reservations about the title, observing that a section of society could not be denigrated in the name of freedom of expression. Notices were issued to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Central Board of Film Certification and Pandey.

The plea alleged that the film promoted caste- and religion-based stereotyping and posed a threat to public order, communal harmony and constitutional values. It contended that the title and storyline were prima facie offensive and defamatory towards the Brahmin community.

The public interest litigation objected to the use of the word “Pandat”, described as a caste- and religion-identifying title, alongside “Ghooskhor”, a term associated with bribery and moral corruption. The court had directed Pandey to file an affidavit clarifying that the film did not denigrate any section of society.

Separately, Netflix India informed the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that the film would be renamed. The High Court recorded the submission, stating, "The producer has taken a conscious decision in light of the concern that has arisen to change the title of the film from 'Ghooskhor Pandat' to an alternate title which more accurately reflects the film's narrative and intent."