LUCKNOW: Made against the backdrop of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute and shot extensively in Ayodhya , the film by Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chief Waseem Rizvi will not hit the screens in Ayodhya.Caught in a web of controversies, the film—Ram Ki Janmabhoomi—will stay out of Ram Janmabhoomi Ayodhya allegedly due to fear in theatre owners even as it is released in theatres across the country on Friday.The writer and producer of the film, Rizvi, has claimed there will only be a select few screenings of the film in UP and Bihar. Theatres in other states will be running the film’s shows on Friday.“The film will not be released in Ayodhya because theatre owners fear violence against them. In UP, there will be fewer screenings because many theatre owners have pulled out. Shows will be run in Meerut, Bareilly, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Shahjahanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Lucknow,” Rizvi told TOI from Mumbai.“Our initial target was of 600 theatres in the country, but extremists and fanatics have put all their might in getting the film stalled. Though their attempts have failed, there is fear in theatre owners against mob violence and we are working on counselling them,” he added. Rizvi said UP and Bihar theatre owners are most fearful of untoward circumstances arising from the film’s screening. A high number of screenings will be carried out in Gujarat, Madhya Paradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi and West Bengal.The film was recently passed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with an A certificate, making way for its release on March 29. Written by Rizvi and directed by Shia PG College alumnus Sanoj Mishra, the film deals with major incidents in Ayodhya around the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute since 1990. It also touches the topics of triple talaq and the illegitimate practice of ‘halala’.On Thursday, even as the Supreme Court refused to stall the release of the film, the Delhi high court, on a petition by self claimed descendant of the Mughals Prince Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy, asked for the film to be showcased for him on the CBFC campus in Delhi.“The film is against the cultural, religious and communal harmony of the country, as also defamatory to my ancestor Babur. The court has taken up my apprehensions against the film’s content and has asked for it to be previewed. I will raise objections against it if I find the content undesirable,” said Tucy, before going in for a late-night preview of the controversial film.

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