"Mardaani 2" Makers In Legal Trouble For Using Name Of Kota City

Makers of Mardaani 2 are in legal trouble after a local corporator from Kota sent legal notice to Censor Board chairperson Prasoon Joshi, director Gopi Puthran and producer Aditya Chopra. The legal notice was sent due to use of city name Kota which is located in Rajasthan. A letter has been written to Information and Broadcasting Ministry appealing to remove the name of city as it maligns the region.

Gopal Manda, a local corporator and complainant in his notice through his lawyer Ashwin Garg has stated that if the name of Kota city is not removed from the film, the screenings will be blocked and a case will be filed in High Court. Recently, trailer of Mardaani 2 was released which shows a serial rapist and a murderer targeting young girls in the city. Starring Rani Mukerji as Shivani Roy is tasked to catch the accused in two days.

"The trailer claims to be inspired by true events. Though such incident never took place in the city of Kota. This city is recognized as an educational city and connecting it with crime events is uncalled for", said Garg. He further said, "Around 2.5 lakh students have been coming here to excel in competitive exams from all parts of India. With such a film been screened all over the nation, who shall send their kids to Kota to study?” he asked.

After an outrage, director Gopi Puthran apologized to people for hurting their sentiments and released a statement, "Despite all the inspirations, Mardaani 2 at the end of the day is a film and not a documentary and it should be seen as that. Kota has been used by us as the setting for this film only. We are, in no way, suggesting that such events or incidents happen in Kota and there was no intention to tarnish the reputation of the city. If this has hurt or upset the sentiments of residents of the city, we are deeply regretful. We realise that since the trailer says it's 'Inspired By True Events' and our film is based in Kota, it could be open to miscommunication."

Filmmakers now plan to remove words 'Inspired By True Events' from the film. "We shot Mardaani 2 extensively in Kota and we only received love and warmth and huge cooperation from the people and all the authorities of the city. This gesture is YRF's mark of respect to Kota and it's wonderful people."