The much anticipated Marathi and Hindi film “Chhatrapati Sambhaji” could not get released on the scheduled date of 26th January as it failed to get timely certification from the Censor Board. On 27th January, director Rakesh Subesingh Dulgaj called a press conference to address the matter. He revealed that despite several attempts, the Censor Board is yet to issue the certificate for the movie. Notably, the filmmakers said regional CBFC officer from Mumbai, Sayyid Rabeehashmi, demanded written evidence against Aurangzeb, claiming that the film portrayed inaccuracies in historical events.
On 26th December, Dulgaj submitted an application to the Censor Board seeking certification for the film. However, the board asked for evidence and further information about the historical events mentioned in the movie. The makers submitted the required documentation, including viewpoints from historians, but failed to get the certification in time.
During the press conference, Dulgaj stated, “On 12th January 2024, we received a late-night call from the Censor Board, instructing us to come for a screening at 9 AM the next day, preparing a DCP file. After the screening, Vinay Kelkar assured us that a UA certificate would be granted, and any changes made to the film would be communicated via email.”
As the Censor Board had assured them that the certification would be provided, the filmmakers finalised the release date for the film for 26th January. The officials assured the makers that the certificate would be provided by 25th January at all costs. However, even after confirming the release date, the Censor Board officials didn’t issue the certificate. He added, “We kept trying to contact Censor Board officials, but no one was available. Before this, the Censor Board had raised objections to certain scenes in the film, and we had promptly submitted evidence and testimony regarding those objections.”
Reportedly, the film accused Aurangzeb of forcing Chhatrapati Sambhaji to convert to Islam. Regional officer Sayyid Rabeehashmi asked for evidence for the same. Dulgaj submitted letters of historians and required documents for the same. However, the certificate was not provided in time, and therefore the movie could not be released on 26 January. Now, the film is set for release on 2nd February, provided it gets the certification from the board.
Notably, the film was announced back in 2014. It took over nine years to make the film, and it is still facing challenges in reaching the theatres.
This is not the first time censor officer Sayyid Rabeehashmi has come up in a controversy. In 2023, despite a ban, FTII students screened a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where it was claimed PM Modi was involved in the Gujarat riots of 2002. At that time, PM Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat. Despite the Supreme Court’s clean chit on PM Modi, BBC released the documentary which the government of India banned. Rabeehashmi was FTII’s registrar and said the institution would “look into the matter”. He said, “It is being reported that a group of students screened the documentary. The matter will be looked into.”
Earlier, he was a nodal officer at the Election Commission of India in 2019 when an order was passed instructing Twitter (now X) to take down a satirical account, “PadhaLikha”, accusing the account of defaming Islam. Rabeehashmi signed the order.
