The government hurried to stall the screening of film by an entertainment television channel, ostensibly as a result of its “adult” content, and asked the channel to telecast it late within the night after prime time.
Information and broadcasting ministry officials in New Delhi told IANS that they've sent a letter to Sony TV to not telecast the movie during prime time Sunday.
“The channel have been told to screen the movie only after 11 p.m.,” they said to a question on this regard.
This directive from the ministry left Luthria, fuming, while the Mumbai film industry reacted angrily to the development.
“I am shocked and disappointed that this decision was taken on the last moment. For the last two months we have now been engaged on this and as per the rule of thumb few scenes needed to be cut to get the U/A certificate. Don’t harass us like this,” Luthria told IANS.
“We re-submitted the film after 59 cuts. Now I'M curious to grasp why has this happened. DVDs of the movies are already out and plenty of people have already seen it,” Luthria added.
The film, that is reportedly in accordance with the tale of late southern actress Silk Smitha and fetched Vidya Balan her first National Award, was to be shown at 12 noon and at 8 p.m. Sunday on Sony TV. However, it was not shown. Sony had bought the rights of the Ekta Kapoor’s production venture for Rs 8 crore.
After the verdict to drag it off from the small screen, Sony ran a ticker saying: “For unavoidable reasons we regret to tell that the film ‘The Dirty Picture’ is probably not telecast today. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.”
Johar too was surprised on the decision.
“A national award winning film cannot have a countrywide telecast??? this isn't a sarcasm but plain and easy hypocrisy!!!! #dirtypicture. If the censorship isn't a last authority then what's??? Complicated and blurred lines defeat the core of democracy!!!! #dirtypicture,” he tweeted.
The film, which also features Tusshar Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Emraan Hashmi, is replete with “bold scenes” and after cuts it was given a UA certification for being shown on Indian television.
Tusshar also expressed his disappointment on Twitter.
“Really unfortunate that once all of the necessary cuts and a legitimate UA certificate, The Dirty Picture couldn't be telecast today on Sony TV,” he tweeted.
“In light of new events that revealed the dark side of Bollywood, ‘The Dirty Picture’ was timely because it depicts the same harsh reality!
“Sad that even with being acclaimed for it’s entertaining realism and having won 3 National Awards the regulatory forces have stalled the show,” Tusshar posted. – IANS
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