It was a quick lunch at the Supreme Court on Friday. Lawyers flooded into the courtroom of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud to witness the proceedings, and one special guest had front row seats: actor Aamir Khan.
The CJI welcomed Khan, who was seated in the front row to witness the post-lunch proceedings, saying, “I do not want a stampede in court. But Aamir Khan is here today. He is here for the screening, and Kiran Rao too will be with us shortly,” the CJI said.
Not far from the actor was the Attorney General (AG) for India R Venkataramani, who remarked, “It is a star-studded court today.”
Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi then quipped, “I am sure he (AG) is referring to you, your lordship.”
Director and producer Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan, in a printed kurta, were at the Supreme Court on Friday to attend a screening of the movie Laapata Ladies, which the Communication Division of the Supreme Court, on the CJI’s initiative, had organised for all Supreme Court judges, their spouses, and members of the Registry.
The movie, which tells the tale of two lost ladies who find themselves, was shown in the auditorium of the top court’s administrative building complex.
A circular from the court said that the screening of the movie is part of the activities organised during the 75th year of the establishment of the Supreme Court of India.
The initiative is part of the CJI’s year-round gender sensitisation programme at the Supreme Court. The idea reportedly came from his wife, Kalpana Das, after she and her staff had watched the film.
“As part of the activities organised during the seventy-fifth year of the establishment of the Supreme Court of India, the movie Laapata Ladies, which is based on the theme of gender equality, will be screened on Friday, August 9, 2024, in the Auditorium, C-Block, Administrative Building Complex. Kiran Rao, who has directed the movie, and Aamir Khan, the producer, will also be present during the screening,” the circular stated.
This is not the first time that the CJI has expressed his love for cinema on similar themes. In 2021, he said Malayalam film director Jeo Baby’s The Great Indian Kitchen was ‘poignantly engaging’. The CJI was on the five-judge bench that delivered the judgment allowing the entry of women in the menstruating age group into the Sabarimala temple.
First Published: Aug 09 2024 | 7:30 PM IST
