Just days ahead of its grand release, Paresh Rawal's upcoming film The Taj Story has found itself at the centre of a controversy.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a BJP leader from Ayodhya has sought a ban on the film, claiming it is based on the subject of a petition he had filed in the High Court back in 2022.
Another PIL, filed by Shakeel Abbas, requested a review of the film's certification and demanded that a disclaimer be added, stating that the movie "deals with a contested narrative and does not claim to be a definitive historical account."
However, on Wednesday, the Delhi High Court refused to grant an urgent hearing to this plea.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Paresh Rawal and Zakir Hussain addressed the controversy surrounding the film and the allegations that it could incite communal tension.
"Tushar (the director) came with amazing research. There is nothing hanky-panky in it," said Paresh Rawal.
"His sources were clearly mentioned, and I even checked with friends who confirmed the facts. From the very beginning, we made sure there would be no Hindu-Muslim jingoism in this film," he added.
Paresh Rawal shared that the film consciously steers clear of any inflammatory content.
"There's even a dialogue in the film where a character says, 'Brother, it's you journalists who make everything about Hindu and Muslim. There's no Hindu-Muslim conflict here. This is about shared history,'" the actor said.
He went on to quote another scene that captures the film's message of peace and reflection, "When someone says, 'What should we do with this?' another replies, 'Break it.' Then a character says, 'No, brother, we're not the ones who destroy. Not even a scratch should come to it. Every problem cannot be solved by breaking or destroying things. Sometimes, acceptance itself is a big thing.'"
Zakir Hussain added that the film is rooted in historical records.
He said, "The acceptance is based on facts, written by Shah Jahan himself. We're not saying he built something bad; he made something magnificent. But what was it actually? Why hide it, and from whom?"
Reacting to the PIL filed against The Taj Story, Paresh Rawal clarified, "That PIL wasn't filed to stop the film. They just wanted the judiciary to watch it once. But the film already has a CBFC certificate. Even the judiciary understands all this; they're not foolish. We never intended to create any Hindu-Muslim controversy. Would anyone invest so much money just to create communal trouble? You can cause a riot for far less!"
The Taj Story, directed by Tushar Amrish Goel, stars Paresh Rawal and Zakir Hussain in pivotal roles and releases nationwide on October 31, 2025.
ALSO READ: The Taj Story Trailer: Paresh Rawal Questions Taj Mahal's Origin, Demands Its DNA Test
