Aligarh movie is defaming us: Mayor Shakuntala Bharti

"There are so many names but I cannot understand why they have named the film 'Aligarh'," Shakuntala Bharti  told media.

"This is an iconic city which is known for its cultural heritage. Have they named the film 'Aligarh' to defame the city and its people?" the Mayor said.

"We are opposing it," she said.

"We will not allow it to run here,"  Bharti said.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta said: "It is a protest by some fringe elements. Let the distributors and theater owners decide."

Set in a small town in Uttar Pradesh from which the film takes its name, ‘Aligarh’ is the story of a professor, Dr. S R Siras, played by actor Manoj Bajpayee, fired from his position for his sexuality and a young journalist, Deepu Sebastian , which is played by actor Rajkummar Rao, who tells his story to the world.

Based on true events, the film depicts the unlikely friendship between the two, a relationship that will change both of them forever.

So far, ‘Aligarh’ has won accolades in film festivals worldwide. It was only the second Hindi film in 17 years to open the 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in October, 2015. The film has also travelled to the prestigious Busan International Film Festival for its World premiere & the 59th BFI London Film Festival.

Aligarh directed by Hansal Mehta and written by Apurva Asrani, produced by Eros International and Karma Pictures.

The film released in India on Feb 26.