Prakash Jha's Aarakshan hit the theatres and multiplexes across Uttar Pradesh on Saturday without any cuts, a day after the Supreme Court quashed the State government's ban on its release. The court's order was received by the government on Friday, following which the Entertainment Tax Department (ETD) issued instructions to the district officials to facilitate the screening of the film.
The release was confirmed by official sources here. They said no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.
Holiday on Monday
Multiplex owners here and in other cities hope to rake in the moolah during the next two days. All government offices, schools and colleges will remain closed on Monday on account of Janmashtami.
The release of the Amitabh-Bachchan-Saif-Ali-Khan starrer was banned for two months on August 10 on the grounds that there was a possibility of opposition from certain groups, and a a law and order problem. A panel of State officials which viewed the film had objected to certain dialogues which they said could inflame passions. The government wanted deletion of certain dialogues.
Aarakshan — meaning ‘reservation' — ran into trouble when the ETD issued a notice to Mr. Jha on August 3, demanding that the film be shown to State officials prior to its release. Mr. Jha agreed.
The Lucknow district administration too cited law and order when denying Mr. Jha permission to hold an interaction with students prior to the film's release. The event was later scheduled for August 4, but even after the venue was shortlisted, permission was denied yet again. The show was to be attended among others by Mr. Bachchan and Mr. Jha.
