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Shahid Kapoor stars in Haider the controversial film remake of Shakespeare's Hamlet

The tone is uncompromising. The language is harsh. The sovereignty and integrity of India has been attacked with impunity, the court documents claim. The unity of the nation has been undermined.

But the source of the alleged threat to the worlds largest democracy is a somewhat surprising one: a cinematic remake of Hamlet.

Shakespeares great tragedy has always provoked strong emotion but it is rare that anyone seeks to ban productions of it on the grounds of national security.

On Friday, a court in a northern Indian state will hear that a recently released film of the play in a contemporary local setting should be banned to preserve the emerging economic powerhouse and its 1.25 billion inhabitants from further harm. The lawyers bringing the case are from a group calling itself Hindus for Justice and claim to be acting on behalf of the 80% of citizens who follow the faith.

The film has now finished its run, so the move to ban it is largely symbolic. But the case in Uttar Pradesh is being closely watched, seen as yet another skirmish in a long-running cultural war pitting conservatives who say they are defending Indias culture, security and identity against creative artists who argue that they should be free to express themselves.

The film called Haider is set in Kashmir, the former Himalayan princedom where separatist insurgents have fought Indian security forces for 25 years. Scenes showing the Indian army committing human rights abuses and the use of a temple for the play within a play sequence performed by dancers wearing shoes, are anti-Indian divisive [and] hurt the sentiments of Hindus, the legal petition says.

Every artist has the right to express whatever they want but without hurting the sentiments of any community, said Ranjana Agnihotri, secretary-general of the group bringing the case. We definitely represent the Hindu community and we feel confident and strong.

Some commentators say the new Indian government, in power since May and led by a prime minister, Narendra Modi, whose political origins lie in a hardline Hindu revivalist organisation, has inadvertently encouraged an intolerant atmosphere. Others argue the new administration is simply caught in the middle.

It wouldnt surprise me if certain elements misappropriated the [new governments] mandate for their virulent ways of living and thinking but they will be disappointed, said Samir Saran of the Observer Research Foundation, a Delhi-based thinktank.

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Hamlet remake row shines light on Indias culture wars