It takes talent to offend a section of audience with your film and it takes special talent to offend cinema goers across the spectrum with your film. Paresh Rawal's courtroom drama The Taj Story, set to be released in theatres this Friday, has managed to do just that.
The Taj Story first caught the social media's attention after the motion poster of the Hindi film depicted a Lord Shiva idol emerging from the dome of the Taj Mahal.
Closer to its release date, the Tushar Amrish Goel directorial has a complaint filed against it by a BJP leader with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Bonus: a petition seeking stay on its release in the Delhi High Court.
In recent history, The Taj Story controversy perhaps comes a close second to 2018's Padmaavat row where both the Rajputs and historians took umbrage at the Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie over alleged distortion of historical facts.
What's The Taj Story Controversy
The Taj Story makers released its motion poster on September 29 on social media, following which many accused the makers of raking up past controversial claims that the monument built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan was constructed on the site of an older Hindu temple.
Paresh Rawal plays the central character of a local guide at the Taj Mahal, named Vishnu Das, who goes to court calling for a "DNA test" of the Taj Mahal amid protests.
The now-deleted motion poster of The Taj Story.
After the motion poster started getting traction online, the makers issued a disclaimer after deleting it.
According to the disclaimer, The Taj Story "doesn't deal with any religious issue" and only focuses on "historical facts".
U-Turn Of The Taj Story Makers
Come October 9, the new teaser of the film was released in which Paresh Rawal's character said that "for some, the Taj Mahal is a tomb... and for some, it is a temple".
He then throws the question open to the viewers, asking them, "What do you think is its story?"
On October 16, the trailer of The Taj Story was shared on social media with the makers claiming that the film seeks to explore the debate on the monument between belief and documented history.
Vishnu Das files a case against The Taj Mahal and is soon seen navigating a heated war of words in a courtroom battle where he questions the origins of the Taj Mahal.
Who Has Said What About The Taj Story
After the controversy around its now-deleted motion poster broke, the makers in a disclaimer said, The makers of the film The Taj Story clarify that the movie does not deal with any religious matters, nor does it claim that a Shiv temple resides within the Taj Mahal. It focuses solely on historical facts. We would kindly request you to watch the film and form your own opinion. Thank You, Swarnim Global Services Pvt. Ltd."
But the teaser and follow-up trailer negate pretty much everything that the makers mentioned in the disclaimer.
In the trailer, Paresh Rawal's Vishnu Das bows in front of the popular historical monument with folded hands before he tells a shopkeeper that he was visiting the Taj Mahal which he referred to as a mandir.
Later in the same trailer, Vishnu Das asks a witness if he had visited the "22 rooms below the Taj Mahal", also calling it a "symbol of atrocity and genocide" as opposed to a symbol of love, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his late wife Mumtaz Mahal.
In his complaint to the I&B Ministry and the Censor Board, BJP spokesperson from Ayodhya Rajneesh Singh has sought a ban on The Taj Story, claiming that it is based on the subject of a petition he filed in the Allahabad High Court back in 2022.
In his petition, which was dismissed the same year, Rajneesh Singh requested the high court to ensure the opening of 22 locked rooms inside the Taj Mahal, claiming the monument was originally a temple.
Now, in his complaint, the BJP leader said, "I filed a PIL for opening the 22 closed rooms in the Taj Mahal. My objective was solely to ensure transparency and verification of historical facts. I have come to know that the movie The Taj Story is based on the subject of my petition".
According to PTI, Rajneesh Singh also claimed that the film's posters, promotional material, and storyline make references to the judicial subject and the petition in a "misleading" manner without obtaining permission from him, calling it a "violation of my intellectual and legal rights".
He also demanded that the screening of The Taj Story "may not only affect the judicial process, but also create unnecessary tension in social and religious sentiments".
Advocate Shakeel Abbas too has issues with the same movie. Shakeel Abbas has filed a petition with the Delhi High Court, alleging that The Taj Story distorts historical facts and could disturb communal harmony.
In his plea, the advocate mentioned that the film is "totally based on fabricated facts" and "a step to create communal disturbance among different communities in India".
His PIL states that, "The film's teaser and promotional posters show a depiction of the Taj Mahal dome being lifted to reveal a figure of Lord Shiva emerging therefrom. These elements have generated considerable public debate and concern about communal harmony and the veracity of historical claims
"The respondents are trying to mislead the exact history by spreading misinformation about the Taj Mahal. However, the CBFC and other authorities have not taken any action against the said film".
Advocate Shakeel Abbas's plea also cautioned that the movie's release "may lead to public unrest or disturbance in Agra and beyond", and that "speculative portrayals" of the UNESCO World Heritage monument could harm tourism and public order.
His PIL also requests the court to direct the makers to add a prominent disclaimer stating that The Taj Story is "a contested narrative and not a definitive historical account".
The Taj Story, produced by CA Suresh Jha, also features Zakir Hussain, Amruta Khanvilkar, Sneha Wagh, and Namit Das.