'MSG', Starring Ram Rahim Singh: 10-Point Guide to the Film - NDTV

Here are the 10 points about the film:

1. Ram Rahim Singh is the 47-year-old leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect. He wrote and co-directed the film, besides singing and composing its music.


2. The film shows him in bejewelled costume riding motorbikes and sending bad guys flying. The movie's trailer has racked up more than 2 million views on YouTube.


3. Leela Samson has resigned as Chief of the Censor Board over the film being cleared for release. The board had said the movie was a promotion for Ram Rahim Singh and should not screen, but it was cleared by an appeals tribunal.


4. The government runs the censorship and appeals process.


5. Ms Samson said that the tribunal, whose decisions usually take a month, had cleared "MSG" in 24 hours.


6. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, denied her claims of government interference.
   


7. Several groups representing the Sikhs who make up 2 percent of the population have demanded a ban on the film, in which they say Ram Rahim Singh has distorted their scriptures and dressed up as a 17th-century Sikh guru.


8. The film-makers say "MSG" fights alcoholism and drug addiction, and extols the virtues of celibacy and a vegetarian diet.


9. The debate around the film went viral on social media, with hashtags #MSGinCinemas and #WeLoveMSG trending on Twitter.


10. A sequel is in the works with profits earmarked to fund a hospital and HIV research centre, said Aditya Insaan, a spokesman for the film's distributor, Hakikat Entertainment.

Story First Published: January 16, 2015 15:06 IST