The official trailer of upcoming Sunny Deol film Surya: Ant se Aarambh Tak, which was unveiled a few weeks ago, created quite an uproar as many medical professionals took objection to the portrayal of doctors in the teaser, which was allegedly defamatory. Now, members of Doctors of Corporate Society (DOCS) have filed a petition against the makers of Suryaa, moving Delhi High Court for the same.
On November 2, a group of doctors filed the petition, according to which the teaser is misleading in its claims of ‘shocking truth of our medical system’ where it shows a private hospital using brain-stem death certification to harvest organs, and alleges that doctors charge patients ₹5 lakh for a minor illness, order twenty-five tests and write “commission” instead of prescriptions. The petition further alleges the teaser of crossing the bounds of ‘cinematic criticism,’ adding that the promotional material vilifies the profession of doctors and invites viewers to take law into their hands.
It is to be noted that in the teaser, a character can be seen yelling in frustration, “Lekin kab tak? Pakdo saalo ko”, immediately followed by scenes in which persons in surgical attire are seized and assaulted inside a hospital.
The petition has been filed by Dr Nishant Soni, Dr Ashish Tomar, Dr Ravi Bhatia, and Dr Shivam Vatsal, who belong to DOCS an association of doctors working in corporate hospitals. The organisation stated that it was compelled to stand up for the rights of salaried private doctors working in corporate hospitals, who do not determine hospital tariffs and are often made the target of public anger.
The said petition seeks urgent examination of all promotional material released by the makers, also seeking suspension of the teaser until required examination are completed. The petitioners’ demands also include the demand of all teasers carrying a clear disclaimer, clarifying that the film is fictional, and that violence against doctors and healthcare workers is a punishable offence.
In response, Delhi HC has sought responses from CBFC as well as the Centre.
As of now, the Suryaa teaser has garnered more than 15 million views on its official channel. Produced by MM Moviez, Suryaa also features Ravi Kishan in the lead cast.