Court okays Gulaab Gang movie release

An Indian court has granted permission for the release of the Bollywood movie Gulaab Gang, a day after it had blocked its commercial screening until May, media reports say.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled the film could be screened from Friday. 

The movie’s release had been blocked earlier after a woman complained that the movie was based on her life and gang of pink sari-clad women vigilantes.

Activist Sampat Devi Pal had alleged that the film-makers had not sought her permission to make the movie which she said would malign her reputation.

Pal’s Gulaabi Gang – famed for their pink saris and sticks – battles for women’s rights across a handful of districts in the poverty-stricken northern state of Uttar Pradesh, tackling domestic violence, dowry disputes, child marriage and other forms of abuse.

The 56-year-old founder and leader of the Gulaabi Gang told AFP last month: “If they don’t ask for permission, we won’t let it release.”

The movie, Gulaab Gang, stars Juhi Chawla as a politician and Madhuri Dixit as Rajjo – alleged to depict Pal – who fights for the education of young girls.

The women who support Rajjo all wear pink, much like Pal’s Gulaabi Gang.

There was no immediate comment available from film director Soumik Sen. But in February he told AFP his movie was “a work of fiction”.

Last month, Pal attended the opening of an award-winning documentary on her Gulaabi Gang in the city of Mumbai.