MUMBAI, June 21: Veteran actor Annu Kapoor, whose upcoming film “Hamare Baarah” courted legal trouble over allegations of being derogatory towards Islam, on Thursday said he doesn’t follow any religion and identifies as an “atheist”. Set to be released in theatres on Friday, the movie is directed by Kamal Chandra. It is produced by Radhika G Film & Newtech Media Entertainment. Ravi S Gupta, Birender Bhagat, Sanjay Nagpal, and Sheo Balak Singh are credited as producers, with Triloki Prasad set as co-producer.
Kapoor described “Hamare Baraah”, previously titled “Hum Do Humare Baraah”, as the story of a Muslim family led by his character Mansoor Ali Khan Sanjari. “I don’t have any relationship with any religion. I am an atheist. I don’t participate in religious discussions because I don’t have that intellect,” the actor told reporters here at a press conference ahead of the film’s release. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed the release of the film after its makers agreed to delete certain objectionable portions. It was originally slated for release on June 7 and then on June 14. “Hamare Baarah” got embroiled in a legal battle after a bunch of petitions were filed in the high court claiming that it distorted the Quran and was derogatory towards the Islamic faith and the Muslim community. The plea sought a ban on the release of the movie. Asked why films such as “The Kashmir Files” and “The Kerala Files” appear to target a particular community, one of the producers urged the media to “not make it a communal issue”. (PTI)
