Court rejects Farhan Akhtar’s petition demanding change of name of 120 Bahadur

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday questioned a group of petitioners seeking change in the title of Farhan Akhtar’s upcoming war film ‘120 Bahadur’, asking why they were “so sensitive about the name” and refused to entertain the plea.

The petition demanded a ban on the release of the film scheduled for Friday, November 21.

A bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjeev Beri said, ,Why are you so sensitive about names?”

The petition, filed by the Samyukt Ahir Regiment Morcha and others, said it sought to protect “the collective honour, historical truth and regimental dignity of the 120 gallant soldiers of C Company, 13 Kumaon Regiment and the larger Ahir community in India who fought to their deaths in the Battle of Rezang La on November 18, 1962.”

Advocate Jai K, appearing for Akhtar’s production house, Excel Entertainment. Bhardwaj argued that the petitioners had already approached the reviewing authority under the Cinematograph Act. He also pointed out that the promos and titles of the film were in the public domain for more than two months, and the petitioners decided to approach the court “at the last moment”.

The United Ahir Regiment Morcha, a charitable trust representing the Ahir community, campaigns for the creation of Ahir regiments in the Indian Army and works to preserve the memory and welfare of martyrs, especially those of the Rezang La battle. The other petitioners are family members of soldiers. According to records, out of 120 soldiers, 114 were killed in action and six survived under the command of Major Shaitan Singh.

The petition alleged that the film’s trailer showed Major Shaitan Singh as the sole hero without mentioning Ahir Company or other martyrs and thus “distorted the historical fact and fundamental identity.”

The petition seeks suspension of the CBFC certificate and a stay on the release, demanding “factual correction, changing the title of the film to 120 Veer Ahir, including the names of all soldiers and recognizing the collective role of the Ahir company”.

The petitioners had earlier issued a legal notice to Farhan Akhtar. In response, Bhardwaj informed him that after the approval of the preview committee, the Defense Ministry had cleared the film for telecast on 7 November.

Bhardwaj said that a disclaimer in the film uses the word ‘brave soldier’ ​​expressing high respect and gratitude towards the courage, service and sacrifice of the fighters and the Indian Armed Forces. He said that revealing the name/caste/religion of each soldier is against Army rules, hence the title of the film is 120 Bahadur.

Bhardwaj said the film carries a disclaimer referring to “brave soldiers” and paying respect to the Indian armed forces. He argued that specifying the caste, community or religion of individual soldiers is against Army rules, and hence named the film ‘120 Bahadur’.