Bollywood slams politics over 'Aarakshan'

New Delhi, Aug 12 (PTI) The film industry has come out in
support of Amitabh Bachchan and Prakash Jha, venting their ire
over the ban on 'Aarakshan' in three states.
The movie has been banned in UP, Punjab and Andhra
Pradesh and met with protests in other states like Jammu &
Kashmir, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
"It is really sad that states are banning AARAKSHAN.
Should we filmmakers from now on start making Cartoon films?,"
tweeted filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar.
Joining Bhandarkar was veteran actor Anupam Kher who
posted, "Aarakshan is a victim of today's dirty Politics.
Movies don't have agendas, politicians do."
Filmmaker Karan Johar, who had faced a similar brunt for
his film 'My Name Is Khan' earlier, added, "Cinema is a medium
of expression... democracy allows the freedom of expression...
is this only in theory??? And who stands accountable?? SAD."
Actor-director Farhan Akhtar wrote, "For the record. I am
against the ban on Aarakshan. I hope better sense will prevail
and that it will release in all states asap (sic)."
Actor Nikhil Dwivedi tweeted, "Are we the film
'fraternity' actually going to be so passive and just watch
helplessly as 3 states just ban a film."
"Isn't censor board a Central Govt Body with reps from
all walks of life? Then why doesn't the Central Govt intervene
and uphold the Board's Certificate in ALL STATES of the
country? Power to 'Aarakshan' the film," wrote director
Anubhav Sinha.
Bachchan, who had initially been cautious about his
views, has strongly voiced his disappointment in his blogs and
tweets. "Back from aarakshan... have cried at our helplessness
in not making people understand that this art needs to be seen
not banned!!"