Bharat: Delhi HC dismisses petition seeking stay on release of Salman starrer

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking stay on the release of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's forthcoming movie 'Bharat'.

The court didn't find any merit in the arguments of the petitioner and dismissed the plea. The Division Bench of Justices JR Midha and Chandershekar observed that the petitioner filed the PIL without watching the movie and that his opinion is based only on the three-minute trailer.

The PIL was filed last week by petitioner Vikas Tyagi and had also sought a change of the title of 'Bharat'. Tyagi, in his petition, stated that the movie is "distorting the culture and political image of our great country 'Bharat'."

He had contended that the title of the film is in violation of Section 3 of Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, according to which the word 'Bharat' cannot be used for the commercial purpose.

He had also sought change in one of the dialogues of the film where the character has been compared to the country, contending that it hurts the patriotic sentiments of citizens. "This film is fraught with Salman's typical flippancy and vulgarity. Being a 'Bharatiya', I feel it is not appropriate to name such film or any character associated with this film after our great nation," Tyagi said.

The movie, which also stars Katrina Kaif, is slated for a release on June 5.