Interfaith Couple Marrying Under Special Marriage Act, Is Love: BJP Leader

There are people of different religions who have married under the Special Marriage Act, and they fall in the category of love and not "love jihad", Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra said on Thursday.

"People should not confuse these two matters. Those who lie about their identity, trap women under the pretext of love and forcefully convert them, that is 'love jihad'," he said at the premiere of the movie 'The Conversion'.

Speaking about the film, Mr Mishra said that it is based on "love jihad" and that "it is a movie to spread awareness amongst women in the Indian society".

"I have seen the movie at least seven to eight times in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gwalior and Mumbai. The protagonist in this movie shows how several women have been trapped by men with fake identity on the pretext of love," he said.

Premier shows have been held in these cities too, besides Delhi.

Speaking to the media, director Vinod Tiwari said that it is more of an "awareness film" and added that it took eight months to get clearance for the movie from the censor board.

"We fought a long legal battle to get this movie approved by the censorship board. Finally, after a struggle of eight months, the movie is releasing tomorrow (May 6). I hope and appeal to everyone to watch the film, especially the women of every household," he said.

The movie 'The Conversion' will hit theatres on May 6. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)