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ShareMumbai: Troubles are not yet over for Ghajini. Having tided over the copyright row, the Aamir Khan-starrer is now up against Pratibha Naitthani.
The social activist has moved Bombay High Court, challenging the censor board's decision to grant the film an Universal/Adult (U/A) certificate, thereby allowing children to see it in movie halls in the company of adults.
The petition, which is likely to be heard next week, states that the gruesome violence portrayed in the film is likely to have an adverse impact on children.
Naitthani, a professor of Political Science professor at St Xavier's College, feels children should not be exposed to such gory scenes. She has petitioned the HC that Ghajini be re-certified an Adult (A) film to bar children from seeing it in theatres.
Naitthani has said in her petition that she saw Ghajini on December 28. The overdose of violence and blood spill made her cringe. "It was more shocking to see that children, right from the age of three to 15 years, in the theatre, watching the film," she has stated.
She has shot off a letter to the censor board chairperson, Sharmila Tagore, pointing out that while films like Gangster and Fashion were certified as 'A' films, "it is ironical that the censor board saw nothing wrong in permitting young children to be exposed to the explicit violence of Ghajini."
Naitthani has stated that by allowing children to see Ghajini, the censor board has ignored the legal provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and the Guidelines framed to ensure that violence is not glorified or used to provide entertainment andhave a desensitising effect on the public.
Naitthani has sought the court's intervention to make censor board review the film and give it an 'A' certificate.
The gory details
The film opens with Aamir Khan killing a man with a pipe attached to a tap. Blood drips down the nozzle, jutting out from the man's stomach.
The heroine is stabbed in the back, then has her head smashed with an iron rod fitted with an iron plank, which the villain swings like a golf club.
Aamir kills a bad guy by breaking his neck. The man is shown lying on the ground, with his head twisted grotesquely
Parentspeak
Shivangi Mehta from Dadar checked out the movie with her husband before deciding whether to let their children see it. "I and my husband went to see it first. We found it unfit for kids as there was too much of violence and gore. The children raved and ranted a lot, but we did not give in. However, Ghajini will soon be beamed on television and all our efforts will be wasted," said Shivangi.
Director's cut
A Murgadoss, director of Ghajini, both in Tamil and Hindi, told DNA: "I would take a child from my family to watch Ghajini. Kids today are much more exposed to violence through WWF and Discovery Channel. In fact, we have cut out some violent scenes from the original version in the Hindi remake. Also, one needs to note that there are no sex scenes, or women unnecessarily exposing, in the film."
The story
Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan, is a remake of a Tamil film by the same name. Inspired by Hollywood film, Memento, the romantic action thriller tells the story of a rich businessman who suffers from short-term memory lapse (anterograde amnesia) after a violent attack, but goes on to avenge his girlfriend's murder.
