Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; January 12, 2015)

The trailer of MSG: The Messenger of God featuring a ‘rockstar baba’ may have received over a million hits on video sharing websites but the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has refused to clear the film. A majority of the board’s examining committee members have taken exception to the protagonist, Baba Ram Rahim Singh, depicting himself as god.

Stating that though Singh has not criticised any religion in the film, sources say he is shown to be performing miracles and curing terminal diseases.

A committee member says, “The godman has showed himself as god and the film looks more of an advertisement. Besides, some scenes show miracles taking place which are not substantiated by logic.” The film has now been referred to the board’s revising committee which will watch the film today.

The spokesperson for the film Aditya Insan rebuffs the CBFC’s arguments. “In the promo, he clearly mentions that he is a normal human being. He is the hero of the film and does what other heroes do — fight evils of the society. We are now awaiting the revising panel’s decision,” he says.