Controversial Punjabi film; Badal asks his HS to look into it

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Press Trust of India Chandigarh
Last Updated : Aug 18 2014 | 5:15 PM IST
Even after being cleared by the Censor Board, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said he would ask his Home Secretary to look into the controversy generated with the release of Punjabi movie 'Kaum de Heere'.
"I will ask my Home Secretary to look into it," he said at Amritsar reacting to furore over the film.
At the same time he, however, said that the Censor board of the union government clears each and every film after watching it.
"Each film is censored by the Censor board of the government before its clearance," he said.
"If there is anything wrong (in any film)...If it hurts sentiments or arouses passion then the Censor board must look into it," he said.
On being told that the main opposition Congress is opposing the release of film, Badal said: "It is all right, but I have not seen the film."
He said that "the Censor board deletes scenes from a film which it feels are incorrect or improper."
Punjab Youth Congress (PYC) has sought a ban on the controversial picture, saying it "glorifies the assassins" of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In a recent letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PYC president Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary had said it was unfortunate that the movie was being allowed to be screened in Punjab and other parts of the country.
He warned that if the permission for the film's screening is not withdrawn, PYC activists will stage protests across the state and prevent its release and screening.
"The government shall be responsible for any law and order issue that may crop up," he said.
Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her two Sikh bodyguards at her official residence in New Delhi on October 31, 1984.
After months of stalling due to objections by the Censor Board, the movie on the assassination, is set for release on August 22.
Though Badal put the onus on the Censor Board which he said clears the movies, after deletion of objectionable scenes, if any, the SAD-BJP government in the state had in the recent past banned a Punjabi movie Sadda Haq and Hindi movie Aarakshan.
In April 2013, the CM had justified the ban on 'Sadda Haq', which reportedly glorified the Khalistan movement and its leaders, saying the state government was committed to maintain peace and harmony.
The movie was based on events in Punjab during 1980-90s and portrayed alleged police torture and other inhuman practices that were reported during the period.
Earlier in August 2011 after UP, the Punjab government had also imposed a ban on Prakash Jha's controversial Hindi film 'Aarakshan'(Reservation) following apprehensions that some scenes and dialogues may trigger trouble.
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First Published: Aug 18 2014 | 5:15 PM IST