The historical documentary The Living Mughals on the descendants of the last Mughal emperor of India Bahadur Shah Zafar has taken a controversial turn.

A final verdict on the film made by Arijeet Gupta is pending in the City Civil Court in Hyderabad as the last hearing was posted for January 16 next year. The court stayed the telecast of the documentary that was shown by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust in June but by then it had already been screened in Korea, Japan and Africa.

Problems for the documentary film began after a man called Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy, who claims to be Zafar's great grandson, alleged his uncles, Ziauddin Tucy and Masihuddin Tucy, who appear in the film, wilfully suppressed the existence of himself and the family of his grand aunt Jahan Ara Begum.

This week Habeebuddin said if Gupta refused to re-make the film, he would make a documentary on his own involving all the 55 members living in Hyderabad and others abroad who could establish their lineage to the emperor.

"I have sent messages on the web asking all the descendants to contact me so that a complete documentary can be made," he said.

Asked to explain why his uncles remained silent about the others, including Habeebuddin's brother Mujeebuddin, sister Asma Firdause and uncle Shajiuddin Tucy, apart from descendants of the great-aunt Jahan Ara Begum, Habeebuddin replied his uncles did in fact not deny their existence but simply "kept quiet".

"I don't want any money. And I'm not blaming the media. But once the documentary is screened widely, international records will never accept us as legal descendants of Bahadur Shah Zafar," Habeebuddin said, adding all he wanted was to ensure all Zafar's descendants were recognised by the authorities.

Who really are the Mughals? Mirza Gaffar alias Mirza Pyare, the grandson of Bahadur Shah Mirza Quwaish, the only survivor of the 49 sons and daughters of Bahadur Shah Zafar, had three children – Prince Yousuf Ali Baig, Princess Jahan Ara Begum and Princess Laila Umhani. Baig died a bachelor. Laila Umhani who featured in the documentary The Living Mughals had four sons of which only two, Ziauddin Tucy and Masihuddin Tucy, are shown.

Jahan Ara Begum, her children and grandchildren were blacked out completely and media coverage too of the documentary did the same. Habeebuddin, a civil contractor with a resort at Shamshabad near here, is the son of Arifuddin Tucy, son of Laila Umhani. Arifuddin died in an accident in Muscat in 1985 and Shajiuddin Tucy, another son of Laila Umhani, lives in London.