Trashing claims of ‘hurt sentiments’ over song featuring teenage actor Priya Prakash Varrier with her wink, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 21) ordered a stay on all criminal proceedings against her and others in this connection, adding that said no FIR can be lodged in future in any state against Varrier for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Muslims.

The order was passed by a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud. Before quashing the criminal proceedings and the FIR against her, the Bench had asked Varrier’s counsels why they had not filed the petition in the concerned high court, to which they responded: “there are so many petitions filed against me (Varrier) in different high courts”.

Varrier had become an instant sensation on the social media ever since the release of the song’s promo which shows her winking at the camera. Even as the song and the actress gained popularity, several petitioners, mostly Islamic organisations, filed cases against Varrier and Omar Lulu, the director of Oru Adaar Love, in various high courts and trial courts – in Kerala and a few other states – alleging that the video of a song from the film featuring the actress had hurt the sentiments of the minority community. An FIR had also been registered against Varrier.

On February 14, some Muslim activists had lodged an FIR against the team of Oru Adaar Love in Hyderabad under Section 295A (hurting religious sentiments) of the Indian Penal Code. A case was also registered on the same grounds in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad against Varrier and Lulu.

The contentious scene where Varrier winks at a boy features the Mappila lyrics — a traditional Muslim song from the Malabar region of Kerala — that celebrate the love between Prophet Mohammed and his first wife Khadija. The complainants primarily objected to the use of Mappila as background music in the flirting scene.

On February 19, Varrier’s counsel submitted to the apex court that criminal complaints imposed by various fringe groups are centered on a vague and incorrect understanding of the song.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra agreed to hear the matter after advocate Haris Beeran, appearing for the petitioners Varrier and Omar Lulu, the film director, sought urgent hearing. The petition filed contended that the “song is originally from an old folk song from Kerala which was written in 1978 by Mr. PMA Jabbar and was first sung by Mr. Thalassery Rafeeq, in the praise of the Prophet and his wife Beevi Khadija” and that “the claims that it hurts the religious sentiments of the Muslim Community are without any basis”.

“It was hard to fathom that a song which has been in existence for the past 40 years… was cherished by the Muslim community in Kerala is now being treated as an insult… it cannot suddenly offend the religious sentiment of the Muslim community,” Varrier’s plea said.

“Filing of criminal complaints and registration of FIRs by the police in multiple states on the basis of complaints by fringe elements… has adversely affected the petitioners’ right to life, liberty and freedom of expression… the legality of the content of the film and the certification on the same can only be dealt with under law by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC),” it added.

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Priya Prakash Varrier, who attained instant stardom with a video that went viral, approached the Supreme Court on Monday, Feb 19, seeking a stay on criminal proceedings against her and the team of upcoming Malayalam movie Oru Adaar Love, said media reports.

In her plea, Priya has requested the court to list the matter for urgent hearing. The petition is expected to be taken up tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb 20) by the bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, said a report in The India Express (IE).

FIRs have been registered against Varrier and the makers of the Malayalam film in Telangana and Maharashtra for allegedly hurting the sentiments of a community. The first complaint was registered in Hyderabad by a student against the film’s director, Omar Lulu, alleging that a song from the film showed Prophet Mohammad in poor light. It is being alleged that the lyrics of the song, Manikya Malaraya Poovi, carry derogatory references to the Prophet and his wife.

Last week, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan defended the song and stated that the complaint against it is “not accidental”, and shows the growing intolerance towards freedom of art and free thought. Intolerance will not be allowed, be it from any quarter, he posted on Facebook.

The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, says that all the claims that the song hurts religious sentiments of the Muslim community “are without any basis”. According to the petitioners, the song has been in use for the past 40 years and the song from the movie is a popular Mappila song from Kerala and that it describes and praises the love between the Prophet Mohamed and his first wife Khadeeja, reported The News Minute.

The petition reportedly has a detailed English translation of the now-controversial song, and argues that Manikya Malaraya Poovi has been celebrated all along, but is now being treated as an insult to the Prophet.

The petition states: “The criminal complaints have been instituted by various fringe groups based on a distorted and incorrect interpretation of the song in the states of Telangana, Maharashtra and similar complaints are likely from other non Malayalam speaking states as well.”

Stating that the complainants have “misunderstood” the lyrics of the song, the petitioners argue that the complaints have in fact “adversely affected their right to life, liberty and freedom of expression under Articles 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution.”

They point out that as artists, they have the right to express themselves in a lawful manner. “That such flimsy and baseless complaints and FIRs cause nothing but hindrance in the freedom of speech and expression granted under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and the same is an outright abuse of the process of law,” reads the petition.

Citing the case of actor Khushboo Sundar in which the apex court had quashed all cases against her following her comments on pre-marital sex, the petitioners state, “That this Hon’ble Court in S. Khushboo Vs. Kanniammal [(2010) 5 SCC 600] quashed several complaints where no prima facie case was made out. Since the criminal complaints are being filed in different states across the country no useful and fruitful purpose would be served in approaching the respective High Courts under Article 226 or in a petition under section 482 of the code of criminal procedure.”

Varrier became a star overnight when a clip from her upcoming debut film, in which she raises eyebrows, winks and smiles mischievously, went viral over the internet.

The post Priya the girl who became a star with the wink of an eye moves SC for stay on FIR appeared first on APN News.

Muslim sentiments have allegedly been hurt by the lyrics of the song ‘Manikya Malaraya Poovi’, the song featuring Priya Prakash Varrier who became an internet sensation overnight with her wink and raised eyebrow.

A couple of Hyderabad residents have lodged a case against Omar Lulu, the director of the upcoming Malayalam film ‘Oru Adaar Love’ over the lyrics of the song ‘Manikya Malaraya Poovi’, claiming that when translated to English, it hurts the sentiments of Muslims as it makes derogatory references to the Prophet. They have demanded that either the song is removed from the film or the lyrics are changed.

The complaint was lodged by Zaheer Ali Khan and Muqeeth Khan, residents of Falaknuma in Hyderabad. “When I first saw the viral video I fell in love it. I watched it so many times and shared it many times. I wanted to know the meaning of the song so I got the original Malayalam lyrics and translated it online and also took help of some people. I found that the song referred to the romance between the Prophet and his wife Khadija. It is inappropriate and an insult to the Prophet. I showed it our elders and we decided to lodge a complaint. I am not against the film or the actors. I am not against the film’s release also. We are only protesting against this song because it hurts sentiments of Muslims,” Muqeeth said, talking to The Indian Express.

“Following the complaint, we took legal opinion and subsequently a case under IPC section 295A (hurting religious sentiments) has been registered against the film’s director, Omar Lulu,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Falaknuma division) Syed Fayaz reported news agencies.

The police will take the opinion of some Islamic clerics on this after getting a translation of the song, he said. “We will proceed based on their opinion… If the song has really hurt the sentiments then definitely action will be initiated against those involved,” the ACP said.

‘Manikya Malaraya Poovi’ is a famous mappila paattu (a native genre popular among the Muslim community) that was originally composed by Thalassery K Refeeque to the lyrics penned by PMA Jabbar. The song in the movie has been produced by music composer Shaan Rahman and actor-playback singer Vineeth Sreenivasan — the duo behind global hit song ‘Jimikki Kammal’. ‘Oru Adaar Love’, starring Siyadh Shajahan, Priya Prakash Varrier, and Noorin Shereef, is slated for release on March 1 this year.

The upcoming movie, written and directed by Omar Lulu, tells the story of plus two (Class 12) students and has newcomers in the cast. The first song of ‘Oru Adaar Love’ became viral on social media and got millions of views within few hours of its release because of Malayalam actor Priya Prakash Varrier’s cute expressions, mischievous smile and wink. Overwhelmed with her instant stardom, Priya said “I do not know how to react. I did what I was asked to do and never expected it to be such a hit.” “Thank you for all the love,” Priya, who idolises Nayaantara, tweeted.

Modest in her stardom, Priya told the media that while she was roped in for a small part in the movie initially, she has come to know now that the film’s makers are considering doing some changes to the script so as to give her a more prominent role after all the publicity that she has got now. ‘Oru Adaar Love’ is a romantic Comedy and has Siyadh Shahjahan and Noorin Shereef sharing space with Priya.

Priya Prakash Varrier is a first-year student studying commerce at Vimala College in Thrissur, Kerala.

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