Poor Jolly-LLB 2, albeit getting lots of free but priceless publicity from spending time in court defending cases by lawyers, of all people, will now have to make four cuts in order to satisfy a bench of the Bombay high court.
The ironies are many, of course. One, is that by challenging the comedy in court and by the judges ordering cuts, the legal profession ends up looking far more terrible and humourless than the movie could ever have managed by itself.
Two: the coverage in newspapers the film and legal challenges have accrued are surely equivalent to crores of marketing budget, meaning that more people will see the movies and legal profession in a comedic light.
Read the order here.
Gautam Bhatia has chronicled and analysed the “depressing story of Jolly LLB 2” on the Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy blog, and concluded, amusingly:
A film was made that satirises the legal profession. A lawyer filed a petition against it. Two judges decided that this film – which satirised the legal profession – was prima facie in contempt of court. They constituted a “committee” – a majority of whose members were also lawyers – to watch the film and decide whether their own profession was being permissible satirised (in Law School, one of the first principles we were taught is thou shalt not be a judge in thine cause – except, it seems, when you literally can). Two Supreme Court judges were asked to intervene. They refused. The “committee” – with its lawyers – found that the film “defamed” the judiciary, and ordered cuts. These cuts were implemented by two other judges. To a film that satirised the legal profession.
Whichever way you want to slice this, it does not look good.
Sandeep Kadian (@GappistanRadio) tweeted: "Judiciary removing scenes from a satire on judiciary. The satire writes itself.”
Livemint (@livemint) tweeted: "Jolly LLB 2 can be screened only after four shots are cut: Bombay High Court"
Jolly LLB 2 can be screened only after four shots are cut: Bombay High Court
Aurangabad: The Bombay High Court today ruled that Akshay Kumar-starrer Jolly LLB 2 can be screened only after four controversial shots in the movie are removed.
Justices S. S. Shinde and K. K. Sonawane of a bench here passed the order after going through a report presented by a committee headed by Justice Prakash Kanade and two others after watching the movie. Advocate Ajay Kumar Waghmare had filed a petition before the bench here and demanded removal of the word ‘LLB’ from the film and cut certain shots which portrayed lawyers in bad light.