Censor Board demands removal of phrase Mann Ki Baat in film
Censor Board has demanded the removal of phrase 'Mann Ki Baat' from a dialogue in film 'Sameer', as it is also the title of PM Narendra Modi's radio show. The Board hasn't objected to an expletive in the same dialogue. "The board, despite granting us an A certificate, asked for certain scenes to be chopped mercilessly," said the film's director.
The Central Board of Film Certification headed by Pahlaj Nihalani has asked the makers of the film Sameer to delete the phrase 'Mann ki baat' from a dialogue in the film.The reason being that the phrase, as we all know it, is the name of the monthly radio address given to our country by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.In the last scene of Dakxin Chhara's film Sameer, after a series of twists, the actual identity of the lead character played by Subrat Dutta is revealed. At this point, the villain played by Zeeshan Mohammed tells him, "Ek mann ki baat kahoon? Tum character accha bana lete ho!" To which, the hero replies, "Waise sir, chai se ch***ya banana aap hi se seekha hai!"According to a report in Mid-Day, the censor board strangely had no problem with the expletive that comes in the second line since the board placed in the context of the character always offering tea while conversing in the film."They categorically asked for the words 'Mann ki baat' to be removed from the first sentence. When I approached the Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani, he told me: PM ka radio show hai, delete the line," director Chhara was quoted as saying.When asked under what guidelines Chhara was asked to get the phrase deleted from his film, the director said, "We were not given an oral hearing before censor board members, which is supposed to be mandatory. The board, despite granting us an A (adults only) certificate, asked for certain scenes involving torture, and bomb blast, to be chopped mercilessly. If we comply, the impact of those scenes would be lost altogether."Sameer, directed by Dakxin Chhara, is a thriller based on the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts and among others, it stars Seema Biswas and Anjali Patil.Chhara at the moment plans to challenge the CBFC's 'Mann ki baat' decision.