http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?728187
Aarakshan Gets Clean Chit from Censor Board
PTI | Mumbai | Jul 19, 2011
Filmmaker Prakash Jha's upcoming Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Aarakshan',
which deals with the sensitive issue of reservation, has been passed
by the Censor Board with a U/A certificate.
The film was embroiled in controversy after the National Commission
for Minorities and National Commission of Scheduled Castes and Dalit
bodies had sought a special screening to confirm the film did not
misinterpret the constitutional provision for reservations of the
socially backward classes.
The certificate was awarded after an examining committee, set up with
representatives from the Dalit, OBC, SC and ST community reviewed the
movie, said an I&B Ministry official, addding "they unanimously agreed
to clear it."
"Aarakshan" gets a clean chit from the Censor Board: Silences the
critics. 'Aarakshan' seen by Censors today and gets a UA Certificate
without a single cut... (sic)," Bachchan said on micro-blogging site
Twitter.
"This speaks volumes about the responsibility and sensitivity with
which the film has been written and directed. This certification
should silence all critics who thought the film will upset sentiments
of people from backward castes.
"National Commission for Scheduled Castes sent notice to Censor Board
that the film should not be cleared by Censor Board without the
approval of the Commission. However, Censor Board did not comply with
this notice. Instead, it formulated an expert panel of its own to
review the film," Bachchan said.
Member of Central Board of Film Certification Pankaj Sharma was the
chairperson of the examining committee.
"The examining committee had a total of nine members and two
officials. Retired Justice Mr Mukul Mudgal, Chairperson of Censor
Board Ms Leela Samson, Mr Pankaj Sharma, Dalit activist, Ms Rajni
Tilak were expert committee members who came from Delhi. Examining
committee comprised of members drawn from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled
tribes and Other Backward castes," Big B said.
"Drawing on people who specialize in issues related to backward
castes, and taking people from community itself to examine the film,
is a very unusual and unprecedented move on the part of the Censor
Board," he added.
The August 12 release starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and
Deepika Padukone, is a drama based on the policies of caste-based
reservation system in educational institutions and government jobs.
Earlier, 'Aarakshan' had to face the wrath of civic administration in
Bhopal, when they bulldozed the sets of the film because it was
erected on a disputed land.
Then, a pro-Dalit group in Kanpur protested against the casting of
'royal' Saif Ali Khan as a Dalit in the film.
Dalit Suraksha Samiti had sent a letter to Jha, saying that getting
someone like Saif, a blue blood, to play a Dalit, is an insult to
their community.
Filed On: Jul 19, 2011 14:23 IST
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