The Mumbai high court on Thursday delayed the release of a film based on the 1993 bombings that rocked the Indian city and killed more than 300 people, the director of the film said. "The court has stalled the screening of the film," director Anurag Kashyap said. The order was made after around 40 of more than 120 people on trial over the blasts filed a petition, saying the film may affect the outcome of the case. Verdicts are expected in the next few months.
"Black Friday", made on a budget of 60 million rupees (1.36 million dollars), was to be screened nation-wide Friday. "I am too numb to comment more on this development right now," Kashyap told AFP.
The court on Tuesday had forced the producers of the film to drop the tagline of "true story" from posters.
Thirteen blasts ripped though hotels, buses, office buildings and the Stock Exchange in Mumbai on March 12, 1993. It was allegedly an act of retaliation by organised crime boss Dawood Ibrahim after the death of hundreds of Muslims in communal riots in the city.
Bollywood macho actor Sanjay Dutt is one of the accused in the blasts trial, but is not among those who had filed the petition against the movie's release.