Mirzapur: The Movie is facing objections over the use of the song Shoorveer, which is dedicated to Maharana Pratap. Rajasthan BJP leader and former Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore has approached
the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), seeking the song’s removal from the film.
Rathore has objected to the song being used in scenes featuring gangsters and other criminal characters. In his letter to the CBFC, he claimed that the use of the song in such sequences has hurt the sentiments of sections of society.
Rathore said Shoorveer was created as a tribute to Maharana Pratap and his courage, sacrifice and self-respect. He argued that using it alongside scenes involving crime, violence and gang culture was inappropriate and affected the legacy associated with the Mewar ruler.
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“The use of the song Shoorveer in the Mirzapur movie with gangsters, drug addicts, and rapists is highly objectionable and hurts public sentiments,” Rathore said in the letter.
He also said Maharana Pratap should not be viewed only as a historical figure associated with Mewar or Rajasthan, but as a national symbol of courage, sacrifice and self-respect.
Rathore’s letter also referred to objections reportedly raised by Repiya Balam, the singer of “Shoorveer”. Balam had reportedly said that the song was dedicated to Maharana Pratap and that permission was not sought from him for its use in the film.
The BJP leader has asked the CBFC to direct the filmmakers to remove the song from Mirzapur: The Movie. He has also urged the board to ensure that songs, symbols and references associated with historical figures are not used in ways that could hurt public sentiments.
“Freedom of expression cannot be a justification for tampering with or insulting our great historical personalities, heroes, and cultural heritage,” Rathore said.
Mirzapur: The Movie is an action crime thriller film directed by Gurmeet Singh in his feature film debut. It has been written by Puneet Krishna and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under Excel Entertainment. The film is based on the Amazon Prime Video television series Mirzapur.
The film features an ensemble cast, with Pankaj Tripathi as Akhandanand “Kaleen” Tripathi, Ali Fazal as Govind “Guddu” Pandit, Divyenndu as Phoolchand “Munna” Tripathi and Jitendra Kumar as Vinay “Bablu” Pandit, replacing Vikrant Massey from the series. Ravi Kishan plays Babban Yadav, while Abhishek Banerjee appears as Subodh alias “Compounder”.
Rasika Dugal stars as Beena Tripathi, Kaleen’s wife and Munna’s stepmother, and Shweta Tripathi plays Gajgamani “Golu” Gupta. The cast also includes Shriya Pilgaonkar as Swaragini “Sweety” Gupta, Harshita Gaur as Dimpy Pandit, Sushant Singh as Bhairav Singh Karnawat, Mohit Malik as Birju Lohar, Sheeba Chaddha as Vasudha Pandit and Rajesh Tailang as Advocate Ramakant Pandit. Kulbhushan Kharbanda plays Satyanand “Bauji” Tripathi, while Shaji Choudhary portrays Maqbool Khan, Anjum Sharma plays Sharad Shukla, Sonal Chauhan appears as Mumtaz Bibi and Anangsha Biswas as Zarina.
