Trust people to start objecting to little things in movies even before their release. And in this case, even before a film has been shot. Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar of Dum Laga Ke Haisha fame are working on a film titled Toilet- Ek Prem Katha and it looks like it has already landed in troubled waters.

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According to sources, a religious leader is offended by the storyline of the film and has allegedly declared a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone who can bring him the tongue of the film’s director. No, we are not kidding!

Well, the reason behind this is as twisted as it can get. Rumour has it that the film is violating the age-old traditions of two villages, Nandgaon and Barsana. In an interesting report carried out by Hindustan Times, a saint Phooldol Behari Dass Maharaj conducted a meeting at a mahapanchayat in Barsana village on Monday.

pikspost.in

During the mahapanchayat, Behari Dass asked the producers to change the film’s title or else the shooting of the film in the Braj region would be stalled. It wasn’t a small meeting as many saints from Vrindavan travelled to Barsana to be a part of it.

One of the saints, Mahamandleshwar Nawal Giri Maharaj suggested the title Toilet – A Swachhta Abhiyaan as a substitute to send a good message to the society.

One of the religious leaders criticised the makers for using the sacred land of Radha and Lord Krishna for a film with such a title. They further went on to say that they would allow the film to be shot in their area only if the title is changed.

bollywoodreporter.net

Following this fiasco, director of Toilet – Ek Prem Katha Shree Narayan Singh addressed the press and rubbished all such allegations of his film hurting religious sentiments.

"We are shooting scenes in Nandgaon and Barsana but every doubt would be cleared with release of movie as nowhere the name of Nandgaon has been used in it. The movie is on women's empowerment and 'Swachhta' and Barsana is chosen for communicating this message through 'lath-maar' Holi since Mughal period," Singh was quoted as saying.

This is not the first time that the film faced an opposition. Last week, a lawyer threatened to serve a legal notice to the director if the storyline of the film went against their traditions.

The film is based on the lines on PM Modi’s Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan.