Overview
- Released nationwide on October 31, the Paresh Rawal–starrer followed a Delhi High Court order that refused to halt its certification, with petitioners withdrawing their pleas to approach the Union government.
- The bench of Chief Justice D. K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said it cannot act as a super censor board and pointed challengers to the Centre’s revisional powers under Section 6.
- Pre-release controversy focused on a poster showing the Taj dome lifting to reveal a Shiva figure, and PILs alleged fabricated history and risk to communal harmony; the Tourism Guild of Agra publicly rejected such narratives.
- Paresh Rawal defended the film’s claims as research-backed and said it does not seek to create a Hindu–Muslim divide.
- Early box office was modest at an estimated Rs 1.04 crore (India net) on day one, and reviews were divided, with praise for Rawal’s performance and criticism of the film’s evidentiary rigor and tone.