Punjab agrees to lift ban on 'Aarakshan' post cuts

Chandigarh, Aug 12 (PTI) The north Indian state Punjab
government on Friday agreed to lift the ban on the release of
Prakash Jha's 'Aarakshan' (reservation) on the condition the
producers delete certain scenes and dialogues from the movie.
The government, which had imposed the ban on the Amitabh
Bachchan starrer on Thursday, decided to allow the release
after the report of a 7-member committee, which was
constituted to review the film. The committee has recommended
certain cuts.
Unless these conditions are fulfilled, the ban on the
release of the film will remain in force.
The committee, which had a preview of the movie last
night, has objected to the dialogue by Saif Ali Khan regarding
hard work done by Dalits. A background couplet being played
criticizing the reservation policy cleared by the Supreme
Court needs to be removed too.
"While weaving the story, there are certain objectionable
words/dialogues which are against the norms of decency and
provide a potential cause for the raising the tempers of
certain communities. This may prove to be a disturbing factor
in the society especially in Punjab where more than 31 per
cent of the 2.77 crore population of Punjab belong to the
weaker sections including the Scheduled Castes," the committee
said in its report.
"...Since the overall message of the movie is positive,
the committee feels that the movie may be released in the
State of Punjab after making the amendments as suggested
above," the committee added.