Javed Akhtar on 'Besharam Rang' row

Amid reports that the CBFC has asked the makers of Shah Rukh Khanstarrer Pathaan to make changes to the shots used in its song Besharam Rang lyricistwriter Javed Akhtar has said filmmakers need to have trust in the film certification body that has the authority to decide what will and what will not make the final cutHis comments came a day before the trailer launch of Pathaan a highoctane spy thriller directed by Siddharth AnandReferring to the Central Board of Film Certification CBFC as a department under the central government the 77yearold industry veteran on Monday said It is not for me or you to decide whether the song is right or wrong We have an agencyThere are people from the government and a crosssection of the society watch the film and decide what will be passed and what will not be passedI think we should have trust in that certification the cuts that they suggest and what they pass Akhtar saidAccording to reports the CBFC suggested the films production banner Yash Raj Films to make changes to Besharam Rang and remove all the mentions of the Indian intelligence agency RAW and Prime Ministers Office from the movie scheduled to be released on January 25Featuring leading lady Deepika Padukone in a saffron bikini Besharam Rang has found itself in the centre of a proverbial storm for allegedly hurting religious sentiments Protests in several parts of the country have been held against the songLast week posters of Pathaan were vandalised in a mall in Ahmedabad and members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal stated they would not allow the screening of the movie in Gujarat unless their issues over the song were resolvedAsked to comment on how fringe elements were protesting against the film Akhtar disagreed saying it was not the fringe but politicians who had expressed their disappointment over the songThere are no fringe elements the ministers are talking these things Forget about the fringe elements The Madhya Pradesh home minister has said it he addedLast month Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra took objection to Padukones costume in the Besharam Rang and had said if certain scenes are not corrected the government will consider what to do about its screening in the stateThe Madhya Pradesh Ulema Board had also sought a ban on the film for misrepresenting IslamIf he the minister thinks there should be a separate censor board for Madhya Pradesh they should watch the film separately And if they are unhappy with the Centres film certification we should not come in between them it is between them and the Centre Akhtar further saidAsked about the recently constituted Dharma Censor Board the screenwriter said every dharma religion should have its own censor boardThere is one censor board in MP then this is there and one censor board of the centre is also there What is the problem We have fourfive important dharmas and they should have their censors Maybe then moulvis under Islam will start watching films Do it do it he quippedAkhtar was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of Jadunama a coffee table book that draws its title from his nickname JaduA compilation of extracts from Akhtars public speeches interviews and quotes Jadunama was unveiled by his close friend and veteran poetlyricist Gulzar Akhtars family members including actorwife Shabana Azmi actorfilmmakerson Farhan Akhtar directordaughter Zoya Akhtar actor Tabu filmmaker Farah Khan actor Nandita Das directors Rajkumar Hirani and Ashutosh Gowarikar and actors Deepti Naval Divya Dutta Urmila Matondkar Saiyami Kher and Satish Kaushik attended the eventAlso ReadDeepika Padukone and her controversial January releasesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever