Gujarat HC issues notice to Censor Board on 'Santa Banta Private Limited' film song

The Gujarat High Court has issued a notice to the state government, the Censor Board and the Viacom18 Media in response to a PIL taking exception to a song in the film "Santa Banta Private Limited".

The PIL, filed by Anil Dubey, seeks deletion of the line "Daaru ke sang khaani hai (To eat with liquor)," in the song "Machhli jal ki raani hai" from the film which released last week.

A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and V M Pancholi sought replies from respondents as to why the line should not be removed. The petitioner contends that it may affect the children adversely.

The producer Viacom18 Media Private Limited has "in the name of creative liberty played mischief with a rhyme which the children have been learning for more than 50-60 years...by usage of the words, machhli jal ki raani hai, raati daaru ke sang khani hai, the song sends a very bad message to the children seeing or listening it," it says.

"The sentence...directly sends a message to the children of tender age that it is fine to consume fish and that too with liquor," the PIL says.

It has made Gujarat government a respondent on the ground that the song promotes consumption of liquor in the state where prohibition is in force and is against the law.

It wants the court to issue necessary guidelines to "ensure that neither in this movie nor in future movies such songs may be made, sung or popularised by film makers and media."

The matter will come up for further hearing after summer vacation.