Protestors stop screening of 'Girlfriend' in two Mumbai theatres
14th June 2004
21.48 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau
The screening of the controversial film Girlfriend disrupted in two cinema halls in Mumbai today by activists of the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS), the students wing of the Shiv Sena, who were protesting against the graphic depiction of lesbianism in the film.
Nearly 100-odd activists barged into the 'Premiere' cinema hall at Dadar during the matinee show and asked the manager to put off screening of the film. The scene was reminiscent of the controversy that surrounded Deepa Mehta's film 'Fire' in 1998.
No violence was reported, according to the Mumbai Police officials. The agitators led by Yashwant Killekar, Harsh Worlikar and Swati Shinde, also tore up posters of the film. Thereafter, the management of the 'Chitra' theatre themselves put off the screening of the film fearing a similar agitation.
Said Yashwant, ''We are protesting peacefully. We are just requesting them (cinema hall owners) to put off the screening as what is shown in the film is not part of Indian culture''.
''We are not going to take law and order in our hands.'' Police officials said, ‘‘we will ensure that there is no law and order problem''.
The film, which has been given an 'A' certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification, is being screened at least in over a dozen cinema halls in the city.
The Karan Razdan-directed film stars Isha Koppikar , Amrita Arora and Ashish Chaudhury in lead roles.
The screening of the controversial film 