'Aarakshan' releases in all but 3 states, Jha seeks SC relief

[1]

Prakash Jha's controversial film Aarakshan on reservations released in most parts of the country to a decent response today even as the producer- director approached the Supreme Court seeking lifting of the ban imposed in three states.

The court will hear the matter on Tuesday.

Jha had contended that the decision to ban the film by the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh was due to political reasons and it violates the fundamental right to speech and expression as the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer was passed without any cuts by the Censor Board.

The Centre too defended the board's decision and ruled out any intervention in the matter.

The Punjab government has agreed to lift the ban on the film's release on the condition that certain scenes and dialogues are removed from the movie.

Multiplex chains and theatre owners said audience response was favourable in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The response was, however, not too good in the north because of the ban in two states, said Rahul Singh, VP (marketing) of PVR.

Jha, who termed the ban 'very intimidating', said he is confident about a positive decision from the apex court and hoped his film will release without any cuts.

"We have a simple demand that our film is released in all the states the way Censor Board passed it," he said.

But in the process, he said, he will lose money in the three states during the first weekend, considered very crucial for a film.