Aparna Bhat, the lawyer of acid attack victim Laxmi Agarwal, has filed a contempt petition in Delhi High Court against the makers of the movie-Chhapaak for not giving her due credit as directed by the court in the previous ruling. The movie is based on the attack on Laxmi and her subsequent struggle.
The Delhi court had earlier this month ordered the makers of Chhapaak movie to give due credit to the lawyer, Aparna Bhat, who fought for the acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. The order had mentioned that the screening of the film without the actual footages and images and without credit to Aparna Bhat will be a grave injustice and will be akin to preventing the public from knowing about Bhat’s contribution and her efforts.
Bhat has initiated contempt proceedings against the makers of the movie for infringing upon the court order that directed the makers to give due credit to the lawyer for her exemplary contribution as she continues to fight cases of physical and sexual violence against women.
Bhat spoke to a news agency informing them she has filed a plea as the makers did not include her name in the credits in the international screenings. She also stated that due credits were given to her in the movie that was aired in India.
Chhapaak, a movie directed by Meghna Gulzar and based on the life of the acid-attack survivor-Laxmi Agarwal, has been at the epicentre of multiple controversies. The movie attracted widespread condemnation after Deepika Padukone was seen standing beside the “Tukde Tukde Gang” at the JNU as a part of her PR stunt for the movie. Recently, Deepika Padukone courted another controversy when she was seen mocking acid attack victims as she threw an insensitive challenge to one of the Tik Tok influencers to copy her acid attack survivor look from Chhapaak. The movie also failed in dazzling viewers as scathing reviews poured in, criticising the movie for its superficiality and for not doing justice to the sensitive topic of acid attack victims.
