New Delhi: Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, who is co-producing the controversial movie '72 Hoorain', has been reportedly receiving threats on social media. Police officers were stationed at the filmmaker's home and workplace, according to the news agency ANI, after he was allegedly given threats.
The trailer shows the Taj Hotel Bombay blast carried out by two terrorists who were promised 72 Hoorain (or 72 virgin maidens in paradise). The tale of religious terrorism is followed by the suicide bombings committed in the name of jihad, and two characters who were promised martyrdom in heaven begin to doubt the premise of the jihad ideology.
The Vivekananda Vichar Manch recently hosted a special screening of the movie '72 Hoorain' at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday. "Our intention is to expose terrorism -- all those forces which are supporting terrorism, which are sowing a seed of terrorism in humankind and the innocents who are getting targeted," he told ANI.
"This has nothing to do with Islam and the Quran. We are talking about terrorist organisations," he concluded.
At the 2019 International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, '72 Hoorain' had its world premiere in the Indian Panorama category. There, it also won the ICFT-UNESCO GANDHI MEDAL Special Mention. For the movie, Chauhan got the National Film Award in 2021 for best direction. Earlier in June, recognised religious and political figures in Kashmir slammed the film for its degrading representation of Muslims, claiming it "hurts the sentiments" of the community.
The film, which is directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, was released in theatres on July 7. The film stars Pavan Malhotra as Hakim Ali and Aamir Bashir as Bilal Ahmed. Gulab Singh Tanwar, Kiran Dagar, and Anirudh Tanwar are the film's producers, and Ashoke Pandit is a co-producer.