India's information and broadcasting ministry was behind the last-minute cancellation of the premiere of The Dirty Picture on Sunday. The airing was stopped despite 59 cuts in the film to make it suitable for television viewing. While the film's director Milan Luthria is shocked, filmmaker Karan Johar branded it hypocrisy.
Information and broadcasting ministry officials in New Delhi said that they have sent a letter to Sony TV not to telecast the movie during prime time saying, "the channel has been told to screen the movie only after 11pm."
"I am shocked and disappointed that this decision was taken at the last moment. For the last two months we have been working on this and as per the rule few scenes had to be cut to get the U/A certificate. Don't harass us like this," Luthria said.
"We re-submitted the film after 59 cuts. Now I am curious to know why has this happened. DVDs of the films are already out and many people have already seen it," Luthria added.
Johar too was surprised at the decision. "A national award winning film cannot have a national telecast??? this is not an irony but plain and simple hypocrisy!!!! #dirtypicture. If the censorship is not a final authority then what is??? Complicated and blurred lines defeat the core of democracy!!!! #dirtypicture [sic]," he tweeted.
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