The Bombay High Court recently stayed the release of Rahasya, the Manish Gupta film reportedly based on the Aarushi Talwar murder case. The ruling came after Nupur and Rajesh Talwar, the slain teenager's parents and the main accused in the case, claimed that the film is based on "distorted facts".

The Times of India reports that Vandana Talwar, the aunt of the Delhi teenager who watched the film on behalf of the jailed parents, both currently lodged in Dasna jail, Ghaziabad, stated that the film "has several similarities with the real case". Neha Mehta, the Talwars' counsel says, "We have seen the film and the many resemblances might hamper someone's right (read Talwars) to a fair trial." And what exactly is the semblance between the two? Though Mehta refused to divulge the details, Mirror has the details of the offending similarities. One, the parents of the murdered girl in the film too are doctors. Two, just like in real life, the girl is murdered along with her servant.


But a source in the film's crew told this newspaper that in the film the parents are surgeons and not dentists like the Talwars. Team Rahasya also points out that their central girl character is shown as a 19-year old girl unlike Aarushi who was 14 at the time of her murder and importantly, their film does not end with the parents being held guilty by a court. The killer in the film is the girl's stepmother. Plus the film depicts the servant as a 22-year old unlike Hemraj who was 45. Moreover the reel servant's body is found after a month unlike Hemraj's which was found a day after Aarushi's body. But added another source, "Manish has just made minor tweaks to keep his film within the realm of fiction. But even the trial proceedings shown in the film resemble the developments which took place in the murder trial."


The Talwars are not convinced with these 'smart' tweaks as the father is depicted as a prime suspect throughout and they claim that this might lead to a public perception in the people's mind that Rajesh Talwar is guilty. The next hearing in the petition filed by the family is to be held on said June 13 but Vandana told Mirror rather emphatically, "We don't want Rahasya to see the light of day until the matter is disposed completely."