Punjab bans Aaja Nachle for casteist remarks

DAMAGE CONTROL: Latest reports say that UP govt has revoked the ban from Madhuri's comeback film Aaja Nachle.

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Keywords: Mayawati, Madhuri Dixit

New Delhi: After Uttar Pradesh, Punjab government has also banned Madhuri Dixit's latest movie Aaja Nachle for an alleged offensive song that has hurt the sentiments of Dalits.

However, latest reports say Uttar Pradesh government has revoked the ban.

The ban comes as a shocker for the makers of Aaja Nachle which was cleared by Censor Board without any objections prior to the film’s screening.

Madhuri Dixit's comeback vehicle had run into trouble in Uttar Pradesh on Friday soon after its release. Dalit organisations objected to a line in the title song of the film.

The filmmakers wasted no time going into damage control mode promising to remove the objectionable bit.

The cause of the controversy is the lyrics from the film’s title song. The line Mochi chala banne sonar (Cobbler sets out to become a goldsmith)" from the movie was considered offensive.

"Today the movie Aaje Nachle was released and the movie has some offensive words against the community. In one portion of the title song it says 'cobbler tries to turn goldsmith'," said, chief of Indian Justice Party Udit Raj.

"They are trying to imply that cobblers are the lowest in the society. This reflects the mentality of the people. It is an insult to the community," he added.

Chairman of Censor Board Sharmila Tagore spoke to CNN-IBN and expressed her apologies on the behalf of the filmmakers and the board.

"This particular line has offended sensibilities of some people and we would like to apologise because it was never anybody's intention. I can speak on behalf of producers and our committee members who saw the film. The word mochi (cobbler) refers to a profession and not a caste in the context in which it has been used in the song," said Tagore.

"If somebody has made a mistake, there are better ways of dealing with it. There is no need to ban the movie. I think that is an over-reaction,” she added.

UP Chief Minister Mayawati took notice of the matter and banned the film in the state on Friday. She had also written to the Prime Minister requesting an all-India ban.

Meanwhile, damage control by the film's makers Yashraj Films and director Anil Mehta has been swift.

"We have requested all exhibitors to physically delete that one line from the film's print tomorrow. I can't give you a time frame, but by tomorrow all prints should be corrected," says Mehta.

On Saturday, Yash Raj Films also tendered apologies to those whose sentiments have been hurt by the lyrics of one line in the title track of Aaja Nachle.

In their official statement they say, “It was not our intention to hurt anybody. We have taken immediate steps to rectify the damage caused and have instructed all our distributors and exhibitors to delete the objectionable words from the song as of last night.”

While this is not the first time that a Bollywood release has been accompanied by a political storm, the controversy comes as a bolt out of the blue for the makers of Aaja Nachle considering the Censor Board had not raised any objections prior to the film's screening.