Film 'Aarakshan' faced with earnings cuts

Mumbai: Filmmaker Prakash Jha voiced fears about his film Aarakshan running into losses as the Supreme Court re-scheduled for Tuesday the hearing of his petition for lifting the ban on the film in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

"We had appealed in Supreme Court to stall the ban. The petition was in process but because the time got over, the hearing has been postponed till Tuesday. We don't know the time when the case will be heard on Tuesday. It will be listed later. However, we will incur some losses if the ban is not stalled," Jha told IANS.

The release of Aarakshan, themed on caste-based reservations in the Indian educational system, was banned in the three states fearing strong public reaction to the anti-Dalit comments in the narrative. It released in other states on Friday.

There was much brouhaha over the film's release even in Maharashtra, but Jha reached a settlement with Republican Party of India chief Ramdas Athavale on Thursday. He agreed to "appropriate cuts" in the film due to the pressure.

Now Jha is hopeful that he can show his movie to people of all states. "Every territory is important for me, may that be big or small. I am hopeful to get a favourable response and decision from the Supreme Court also, because it does make a difference to the business if the film is not being shown in three states," he told reporters.

"People have their own fears, but I think everything will be okay as people will watch it and realise there is nothing controversial," he added.

Meanwhile, Aarakshan faced protests in some theatres in Bangalore and Mysore respectively, but movie buffs nevertheless thronged cinema halls on the opening day.

Screenings of the film at Bangalore's Parimala theatre and Maysore's Lido theatre were disrupted. The leaders of the Bahujana Students Federation burnt effigies of the film's star cast in Mysore and demanded that it's screening be stopped across Karnataka state with immediate effect.

Bachchan questions no-screening decision

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan has criticised the ban on the screening of Aarakshan in three states. "What good will two months [the period of the ban] do then in the law and order situation — the reason given for the non-showing of this product! So the same film is a law and order problem now and today, but shall not be a problem after two months?" Bachchan, who plays a lead role in the film, posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com.