Bans Will Take Us Nowhere, SC Orders Protection to Screen Film

The Supreme Court on Thursday offered a resounding defence of artistic and creative freedoms, asserting that movies, stand-up comedy and poetry cannot be curtailed merely because some groups claim their "sentiments are hurt," as it directed the Karnataka government to protect the screening of Thug Life, a Tamil film starring Kamal Haasan, in the state.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

The court's firm stance came as the Karnataka government submitted an affidavit assuring full protection to the film's release after it was effectively stalled by threats from certain groups. A bench of justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan said the duty of the state goes beyond mere neutrality and it must "take to task" those who try to muzzle creative expressions through threats and violence.

"This litany of hurt sentiments — there will be no end to it. And because someone says their sentiments are hurt, should movies be stopped, stand-up comedy be stopped, and poems not recited? We cannot allow this."