>Controversial film Aligarh, based on the life of a Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) professor who was sacked on charges of homosexuality, was not screened here for the second consecutive day with the film’s director Hansal Mehta terming it an “extra-constitutional ban.”
“The film was not screened today. It is an extra-unconstitutional self-proclaimed ban by some fringe group. It is a kind of threat. Even the city Mayor is supporting the fringe group,” film’s director Hansal Mehta told PTI.
“No disrespect has been shown to the city of Aligarh as alleged. On the contrary, tremendous has been shown about the city’s culture. People objecting to the film have not seen it,” film’s writer Apurva Asrani said.
A fringe group called the Millat Bedari Muhim Committee (MBMC) has arm-twisted exhibitors in Aligarh into cancelling the screening of the biopic, it has been alleged.
The group strongly objected to the title Aligarh , stating that the film — based on Professor Ramchandra Siras who was suspended from the AMU in 2010 after he was filmed having consensual sex with a man — sullied the reputation of the city.
Supporting the ban demand, Aligarh Mayor Shakuntala Bharti said, “We had issued a warning that we will not allow this film to be shown in the city at any cost. Ten days ago, we lodged our protest against the screening of the movie.”
District authorities said no ban had been imposed on the film, which released on Friday, but the threat against the screening and finding only few moviegoers on day one, appears to have forced theatre owners here to call off screening.
