PRAKASH JHA TO REFUSES TO SHOW AARAKSHAN TO NATIONAL COMMISSION

The National Commission for Schedule Castes has asked for a screening of the film AARAKSHAN, to judge whether the film is suitable for release. However, filmmaker Prakash Jha has refused to have any special screening for the National Commission.

PrakashJha, "The laws of the country do not require me to show my film to any board or body, apart from the Censor Board.

"The Censor Board has been constituted to review films - rate them according to viewing suitability, and address any other concerns related to the release of the film. The Censor Board is the only body that needs to see the film. Once the film is submitted for censorship, it's up to the Censor Board, who they want to incorporate into the preview committee. It is the prerogative of the Censor Board, if it wants to involve any other body of people for advice.

"I am not required to respond to any board of people, who want to sit in judgment over my film. As a filmmaker, who has been making films for about 30 years, I am well aware of the procedure I have to follow to get the clearances for the release of the film. I will be following the due procedure.

"AARAKSHAN is a film about the ramifications of the reservation policy and the commercialization of education as seen through the experiences of a particular group of people. It explores various sides of the issue, through various characters. My intention has been to provide a fair and balanced comment on the issue.

"The film is releasing on the independence day weekend, so we have enough time to go to the Censor Board for the censor certificate."

PRAKASH JHA'S UPCOMING MOVIE "AARAKSHAN"

The local authorities demolished a major set of Prakash Jha's upcoming film "AARAKSHAN"in Bhopal. The demolition was ordered by the District Magistrate's office. Patchwork scenes with Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan were scheduled to be shot on the set later this month.

Prakash Jha Productions had taken land on lease from the Minal Residency Group, not realizing that it was disputed property.

From end-January till end of March shooting continued on the constructed set.

The set that has been demolished included an entire bungalow that belongs to the character played by Mr. Amitabh Bachhan in the film and parts of the tabela, where informal schools were set up in the film. This particular set was spread over an acre and a half of land.

Prakash Jha, "We had no idea that the land where we had constructed was disputed. But I do feel that even though the demolition had to go through, the authorities knew we had constructed only temporary structures for the purpose of shooting. Why demolish it? It would have been dismantled within a month. Everyone in Bhopal knew it was a set. The demolition has definitely upset our plans. The reason we had left the set standing was because there were a couple of patchwork scenes with Saif and Deepika that remained to be shot. Now we have to work out alternative arrangements."

ADM Bhopal, Mr. Rajnish Shrivastava, "It was an illegal structure, so it was demolished. The High Court had directed us to demolish the structure. We did what we were supposed to, because the construction on that area was not legal."