Status quo on Rana Plaza movie till Sep 14

A Supreme Court chamber judge today imposed a status quo till September 14 on release and screening of the Rana Plaza movie, which features the miraculous rescue of garment worker Reshma Khatun from under the rubble 17 days after the collapse of the building.

The film cannot be exhibited till further order following today’s SC order, Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, a lawyer for the petitioner, told The Daily Star.

Poster of film "Rana Plaza", directed by Nazrul Islam Khan and produced by MA Multimedia House. Photo taken from mamultimediahouse.com

Justice Hasan Foez Siddique imposed the status quo after hearing a review petition filed challenging the Appellate Division’s September 6 order that lifted a ban on the movie.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh National Garments Workers Employees League President Sirajul Islam Rony submitted the review petition, saying the horrible scenes were not deleted from the movie in line with the HC directives.

After filing the review petition, Rony said producer of the film, Shamima Akhter on September 6 submitted her writ petition containing “false” information against the High Court ban. The HC verdict on August 24 imposed a ban on screening the movie.

Imtiaz Moinul Islam, a lawyer for the review petitioner, told The Daily Star that the producer, in her petition, told the SC that the horrible scenes were deleted from the movie, but she did not mention which scenes were deleted.

Today, the chamber judge of the apex court fixed September 14 for hearing the review petition at the full bench of the Appellate Division.

The film had earlier been scheduled for release on September 4.