Notice to Aamir for chinkara in 'Lagaan'

Ahmedabad, Aug 8 (IANS) The Gujarat government has quizzed Bollywood star Aamir Khan about the filming of the endangered chinkara gazelle for his blockbuster "Lagaan".

"We have issued a notice to the film star seeking details about the use of the animal. How did he manage to get the animal even when he was denied permission to shoot chinkara by the forest department?" Chief Conservator Of Forests Pradeep Khanna told IANS Tuesday.

The actor has been given seven days to reply. The chinkara was used during the shooting of the film in Jam Kunaria village in the border district of Kutch, 375 km from here, in 2000.

The forest department may file a case against Aamir, his former wife Reena and present wife Kiran Rao, for violating the Wildlife Protection Act by filming the animal without permission. Reena was the executive producer of "Lagaan" and Kiran Rao the assistant director of the film.

According to forest officials, Aamir had asked for permission to shoot the animal, but the request was turned down. When the film was released, there was a shot of a chinkara.

Earlier last month, the forest department conducted an internal inquiry before approaching the film star. A team of officials conducted a survey of Jam Kunaria village too.

Meanwhile, a forest guard has admitted that he had taken the "Lagaan" crew to shoot the endangered species.

The forest department had earlier carried out some preliminary investigation and the matter was closed. The case was reopened when an environment group - Gir Youth Nature Club - registered a complaint in July, just after the state criminal investigation department was asked to re-investigate poaching charges levelled against Bollywood star Salman Khan eight years ago during the shooting of "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam".

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