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India just can't make enough rules about playing the national anthem at the movies

Wish courts spent more time on meaningful stuff.

Manish Singh

on February 14, 2017

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

India continues to scramble for ways to use the national anthem to instil a "sense of committed patriotism and nationalism" in its citizens.

In November, the Supreme Court of India ordered movie theaters to play the national anthem before each screening. People are also required to stand up when the national anthem is being played.

As one would expect, the ruling wasn’t received with open arms by many Indians. The move came after Narayan Chouksey, 78, filed a petition, saying that watching people not respect the national anthem hurt him "very badly".

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But what about the national anthem that are part of a movie or documentary? Aamir Khan-starrer blockbuster Dangal, the highest grossing movie in India, for instance, plays the national anthem towards the end of the movie.

According to the India’s Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday, people are not obliged to stand up when the national anthem is part of the movie.

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Movie theatres have been one of the test markets for nationalism in India for a long time. In 2003, the Maharashtra state government had mandated playing the national anthem in theatres. The move was soon followed by the Karnataka state government.

Interestingly, in December, the Supreme Court rejected a petition that proposed making national anthem mandatory in courtrooms.