Mumbai:
The Censor Board appears to have bowed to the wishes of Mumbai Police while snipping off a song from Ram Gopal Varma's Department, set to release this Friday (May 18, 2012).
During a special screening organised on May 15, 2012 at Eros cinema in Mumbai, Additional Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti reportedly asked the board to remove a song from the movie that refers to cops as bhai.
The film is based on the politics between the police force and the underworld. So, the board had also invited Mr Bharti for the screening. According to sources, the top cop objected to a song, titled Mumbai Police Sabka Bhai. Mr Bharti protested the usage of the term 'bhai' and asked for the song to be removed from the film. The board members asked Mr Bharti to give them his objection in writing, which he did. After that the board Chairman asked for the views of other members.
A little later Ram Gopal Varma appeared. The board members told him about Mr Bharti's objection. RGV clarified that the song is based on the film's story and he was not in favour of deleting the song. But the board members were reportedly unanimous, "The board members seemed helpless. They asked for the song to be cut," said a source.
Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt play important characters in the film, which is based on how underworld gangsters used the police's 'encounter kings' to finish each other. "There is nothing wrong in calling Mumbai Police 'bhai'. It means brother. We are all brothers," said an IPS officer, laughing off the issue. The board has given the film an "A" certificate.
Producers of the film refused to speak on the issue. Despite several attempts, Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik and Additional Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti were not available for comments. Mr Bharti did not respond to our text messages. "I think this was not the personal view of Deven Bharti. This was the departmental view. I can comment only after verifying the truth," said Additional Commissioner of Police Sunil Paraskar, spokesperson, Mumbai Police.
During a special screening organised on May 15, 2012 at Eros cinema in Mumbai, Additional Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti reportedly asked the board to remove a song from the movie that refers to cops as bhai.
The film is based on the politics between the police force and the underworld. So, the board had also invited Mr Bharti for the screening. According to sources, the top cop objected to a song, titled Mumbai Police Sabka Bhai. Mr Bharti protested the usage of the term 'bhai' and asked for the song to be removed from the film. The board members asked Mr Bharti to give them his objection in writing, which he did. After that the board Chairman asked for the views of other members.
A little later Ram Gopal Varma appeared. The board members told him about Mr Bharti's objection. RGV clarified that the song is based on the film's story and he was not in favour of deleting the song. But the board members were reportedly unanimous, "The board members seemed helpless. They asked for the song to be cut," said a source.
Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt play important characters in the film, which is based on how underworld gangsters used the police's 'encounter kings' to finish each other. "There is nothing wrong in calling Mumbai Police 'bhai'. It means brother. We are all brothers," said an IPS officer, laughing off the issue. The board has given the film an "A" certificate.
Producers of the film refused to speak on the issue. Despite several attempts, Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik and Additional Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti were not available for comments. Mr Bharti did not respond to our text messages. "I think this was not the personal view of Deven Bharti. This was the departmental view. I can comment only after verifying the truth," said Additional Commissioner of Police Sunil Paraskar, spokesperson, Mumbai Police.
