Nalgonda court halts release of RGV's 'Murder'

Hyderabad: In a blow to film director Ram Gopal Varma, the Nalgonda sessions court, on 24 August, issued a stay order on his film 'Murder'.

The movie is based on a 2018 honour killing incident where Pranay was hacked to death in broad daylight allegedly by his wife Amrutha's father.

The stay order comes after protests from Pranay and Amrutha's family. In a petition, Amrutha had said, “Ram Gopal Varma did not seek the prior consent of Pranay's family or my family and the movie is completely based on my life and not a fictional character. And, the respondent has no right to portray my life on any platform without my consent.”

Speaking to NewsMeter, Pranay's father Balaswamy said, “We are very happy with the stay order. How can somebody, without our permission, take away our privacy? If you see the trailer, it directly justifies the killing and the film has used our names without even approaching us for permission. Will this film does not affect the trial proceedings in the court as the case is already subjudious and the film can influence the course of the verdict?”

Last month, a case was booked against director RGV and Natti Karuna in the Miryalaguda town police station under the SC-ST Prevention of Atrocities Act after Pranay’s father approached the court asking it to halt the release of the film. He had said it would hamper the investigation of Pranay’s murder and also said the film had used Amrutha and Pranay's photos without their permission.