'Dum Maro Dum' may be screened in court before release

Panaji, April 13 (IANS) Before hitting the theatres April 22, Rohan Sippy's "Dum Maaro Dum" (DMD) could be screened before the Panaji bench of the Bombay High court.

Savio Rodrigues, who has petitioned the court to ban the release of the film for being disrespectful to women in Goa, Wednesday pleaded that "the entire movie should be screened before the division bench before its theatrical release".

The distributors of the film have also agreed to do so in case the judges expressed such a desire.

On Wednesday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari viewed the promos of the Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu starrer and have now fixed the next hearing for April 18.

The promos were viewed by the judges on a laptop.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom a senior official of Fox Star Studios India Private Limited (FSSIPL) the film's distributor, said that objectionable dialogues in it had been removed.

In an affidavit submitted to court, FSSIPL official Dina Duttani has also accused the petitioner of harassing them a few days before the release of the film.

"The petitioners have deliberately approached the court at the last moment even though press reports about the film have been prevalent for many weeks," she said.

She said that the story line of the film revolved around an honest police officer's drive against the drug mafia in Goa and that it dealt with the subject of "victory of good against evil".

"The story is essentially about how a minister in Goa directs an honest police officer to eradicate the drug mafia. There is nothing in the film which could be construed as depicting Goa or the people of Goa in a negative light," the affidavit states, adding that the story was rooted in fiction.

Apart from the petition, the state government as well as women's groups are up in arms over the allegedly sleazy portrayal of Goa.

While the State Women's Commission has filed a police complaint against the filmmaker for bad portrayal of women in the film, the petitioner has said the "movie is against public order, decency and morality and there is clear violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution of India to the people of Goa".

"The film is scheduled to be released on April 22, 2011, and as per the publicity given to the said film by the producers in the media the said film will attract criminal minded tourists and offenders and drive away decent travellers and tourists from Goa," Savio has said in his petition, adding that it would have a "create a ripple effect on Goa's tourism".

Goa Tourism Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar has already said that he would be taking up the issue of state's bad portrayal in the film with its director.

"We are worried that Goa maybe projected badly in the film. The industry in Goa and the government have worked very hard to build the reputation of Goa to what it is today. We will intervene. The chief minister and me will take up the issue with Sippy," Halarnkar said.

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Dum Maaro Dum