'Jodhaa Akbar' screening resumes in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal, Feb 29 (IANS) The screening of the Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer "Jodhaa Akbar" restarted in Madhya Pradesh Friday.

It was resumed three days after the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected the state government's order to ban the screening of the film, though temporarily.

The court had ordered the government to lift the ban Tuesday. The movie was released Feb 15, but banned in Madhya Pradesh Feb 22 by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government following fears that it may cause a law and order problem as some members of the Rajput community was against the film's content.

The community alleged that the film's director Ashutosh Gowariker presented Jodha Bai as Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar's wife, which they said was factually incorrect.

According to them, Jodha Bai was not the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber as shown in the film, but the daughter of Motaraja Udai Singh of Marwar. And she was married to Akbar's son Salim alias Jehangir.

The state government ban on screening of the controversial film has boosted the sale of pirated version of the movie, a retailer said.

The film's distributor for Madhya Pradesh is estimated to have suffered a loss of at least Rs.20 million since the ban was imposed.

"The state government banned the legal trade as a consequence of which the illegal trade has got a boost," said Aditya Chouksey, Jodhaa-Akbar's distributor for Madhya Pradesh.

The state government too has suffered a loss of Rs.6 to 7 million on entertainment tax during the week since the screening of the film has been stopped. Pirated VCD/DVD vendors are estimated to have done business worth over Rs.10 million during the period.

The Central Circuit Cine Association has also criticised the state government's assertion that screening of the movie was a threat to peace. The association pointed out that sporadic protests were held in many states and it was the duty of the government to provide security.

The movie has so far been screened in 17 locations in the state and was originally scheduled for release in 50 locations.

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Jodhaa Akbar