"Why do you film scenes which hurt our religious sentiments? If you have the guts, then why don't you show visuals that hurt the sentiments of some other religion?" Mishra said. A day after Bajrang Dal members vandalised the set of Prakash Jha’s Aashram-3 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said the government would make it mandatory for filmmakers to obtain the approval of the district administration before shooting scenes that could offend religious sentiments.
Mishra also said he had asked the state police chief to review an advertisement for a fairness product that showed a lesbian couple celebrating Karwa Chauth, and ask the manufacturer to withdraw it.
The manufacturer, Dabur, has already apologised and pulled the ad from social media.
“Aapatti hai (we object),” Mishra said with regard to both Aashram-3 and the same-sex Karwa Chauth ad. “Hamari bhaavnaon ko aahat karne wale drishya filmaate kyon ho? Aur himmat hai to kisi doosre dharm ki bhaavnaon ko aahat karne wala koi drishya kyon nahin filmaate ho? (Why do you shoot scenes that hurt our sentiments? If you have the guts, why don’t you shoot scenes that are objectionable to [the followers of] other religions?)” Mishra told reporters on Monday.
“Main yeh nirdesh doonga, abhi maine DGP ko lesbian wala jo Dabur ka vigyapan aaya hai usme nirdesh diye hain ki iska pareekshan karayen, aur uss company ko bataayen ki isse hatayen anyatha hum vaidhaanik karyawahi karenge…
“Aashram waale maamle mein bhi hum ek sthayi guideline jaari karne waale hain ki aapattijanak agar koi scene hai, ya agar kissi dharm ki bhaawna ko aahat karne waale koi scene agar aapki story mein hai, toh pehle prashasan ko woh story dein, aur anumati lein, uske baad hi woh filmaankan karein.
“(I have instructed the director-general of police to review the lesbian ad and inform the company that if they do not remove it, we will take legal action. With regard to the Aashram matter, we will issue guidelines that if there are any objectionable scenes or scenes that offend the religious sentiments of anyone, you will be required to submit your story to the administration and seek prior permission, and only then shoot that scene.)” Mishra said.
“You are welcome to shoot in Madhya Pradesh, but if you feel there is an objectionable scene, or if anyone else feels the same, the district administration must be informed,” he said.
On Sunday evening, around 50 men from the Bajrang Dal stormed the set of the web series Aashram-3, smeared ink on the face of director Prakash Jha, and smashed the windshields of at least three buses parked at the site of the shooting in Bhopal’s old jail at Arera Hills.
A video of the incident showed a member of the film crew being chased and beaten by men wielding lathis. The men raised slogans against Jha and Bobby Deol, who plays the lead in the film, which is about a charlatan posing as a religious leader.
The rampage continued for about 10 minutes before police reached the spot. Four men were detained late on Sunday night, and they were subsequently arrested under Section 151 CrPC (to prevent the commission of cognizable offences). This was done because there was no complaint from Jha or anyone else associated with the film, police said.
“We have not received any application for any complaint so far from those involved in the shooting. But they have been provided with appropriate security to ensure their safety,” DIG Bhopal Irshad Wali told The Indian Express.
Sudhir Arjariya, Town Inspector of MP Nagar police station, said: “The four accused were produced before a magistrate. The shooting continued after the incident on Sunday and on Monday as well. We have provided security at the location, and have asked the team to inform us if they move, so we can provide similar security there as well.”
Sushil Surhele, state convener of the Bajrang Dal, told reporters after the incident on Sunday that “Prakash Jha was speaking to his team and had agreed to change the name of his web series.”
Surhele alleged that the web series defamed ashrams by portraying them as places where women were exploited by religious leaders.
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