HC asks for home dept's views on quota movie

MUMBAI: The Bombay HC on Wednesday made the home department a party to the petition filed against film-maker Prakash Jha's yet-to-be-released film Aarakshan and has sought its reply on the apprehension expressed by two Raigad lawyers that its release may spark a law and order problem. The home department will also have to confirm if it is "well equipped to handle the situation, if needed."
A bench of Justices DD Sinha and AR Joshi initially pointed out two options, one being that the court would keep the petition pending but allow the film's release, especially since the censor board cleared it after going the extra mile by inviting four persons from the reserved communities to view itat the board's screening.The censor board had got retired Punjab & Haryana high court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and well-known Dalit writer Rajni Tilak to view the film before issuing it a U/A certificate. The board also checked with the SC/ST members whether the film violated any law or was likely to hurt sentiments. The producer voluntarily agreed to drop the word "Dalit" from the film and the film was cleared with no cuts. The petioner said Jha agreed to pre-screen the film for Mayawati, which the producer denied.
It is a film with "its heart in the right place" and makes no anti-reservation stand said one of those who has viewed the film. The film is about commercialisation of present day education system and its connection with the private coaching classes and not anti-Dalit, the producers said. The petition filed in HC is based on film's promos and the "extreme" reactions it generated online said the petitioner's lawyer Sanghraj Rupwate. But producer said the writ is based on "surmises and conjectures". In court he submitted an affidavit to say that Jha had agreed to screen the film for certain politicians including Mayavati but the producer's counsel Venkatesh Dhond categorically denied any such pre-release screening. The court asked all sides including Censor boad lawyer Rajiv Chavan to file brief synopsis of their contentions and adjourned the matter to Friday for further hearing.