The Hyderabad police have issued a notice to the makers of the Telugu film Baby over a scene that shows two characters using rolling paper presumably to roll ganja. The notice for appearance issued by Hyderabad Commissioner of Police CV Anand asked director Sai Rajesh Neelam, producer Sreenivasa Kumar Naidu (SKN), actors Vaishnavi Chaitanya and Kirrak Seetha who appear in the mentioned scene, and the production company Mass Movie Makers to appear before the Commissioner at the Telangana state Integrated Command and Control Centre at 1 pm on Thursday, September 14. 

In the scene over which the Hyderabad police have raised objection, Vaishnavi (played by Vaishnavi Chaitanya), who comes from a low-income neighbourhood, is seen getting accustomed to the lifestyle of her wealthy classmates in engineering college. One of her classmates, Seetha (played by Kirrak Seetha) is seen offering her a rolling paper, which she pastes together by licking it.

Baby, starring Vaishnavi Chaitanya, Anand Deverakonda, and Viraj Ashwin, was released in theatres on July 14, and immediately became immensely controversial as many male viewers were seen abusing the female lead character in the film and women in general, saying they were often ‘fickle’ and ‘unfaithful’ in romantic relationships. The film is now streaming on the OTT platform Aha, and the scene features a statutory warning on the legal consequences of the consumption and trafficking of narcotic substances. 

In their notice, the Hyderabad police said, “It has been brought to the [Commissioner’s] notice that in the movie… it is blatantly shown that the heroine character played by Vaishnavi Chaitanya and another character played by Kirrak Seetha are rolling OCB paper and licking it and smoking it which portrays that that the characters are smoking ganja.” It said that only people who smoke ganja roll it into OCB paper and paste it in such a manner, and that the portrayal indicates that they were smoking ganja. 

Referencing a Supreme Court verdict from 1970 (KA Abbas vs The Union Of India), the police notice said films had a major effect on children and adolescents. They also invoked Article 47 of the Constitution that says “the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.”

Invoking Section 22 of the Hyderabad City Police Act which gives the Commissioner the power to issue orders to the public, the filmmakers and actors were asked to appear before the police to be explained that “glorifying characters with negative shades” such as characters smoking ganja would “impact the minds of young generation”, and to be advised against “propagating” such acts. 

Read: Sai Rajesh’s Telugu film Baby is a story of sugar-coated patriarchy

Also read: Telugu movie Baby ends up with many male viewers abusing women

Addressing the media after a drug bust in Madhapur on Thursday, Commissioner CV Anand referenced the scene from Baby and alleged that it encouraged drug use. He even screened the particular scene from the film, and appealed to filmmakers to avoid including such scenes.