A poster of Shootout at Lokhandwala; (below) a still featuring the song

New Delhi, Sept. 5: Aye Ganpat can blare on, with all its obscenities — the Supreme Court has plugged its ears.

On Monday, the court refused to intervene in a public interest petition seeking a ban on the song being played on television and radio.

“We agree it’s in bad taste,” said a bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, of the hit song from Shootout at Lokhandwala.

But it refused to impose a ban, and instead asked petitioner Jyothika Kalra to launch a public campaign.

Kalra, an advocate working for women’s rights, had argued that the song was “derogatory to the dignity of women” and violated a “fundamental right i.e. right to love with dignity”.

The song picturised on Vivek Oberoi, who plays a sozzled gangster, is full of obscenities directed at women.

“Bipasha, Mallika, Priyanka” and “Aishwarya Rai” are singled out for special attention.

“The language of the song does not stand the test of decency and morality,” Kalra said, adding that such songs objectify women and are detrimental to any society seeking gender equality.

Shootout — co-produced by Ekta and Shobha Kapoor who are behind the saas-bahu serials on TV — was given an adults-only certificate by the censor board, she said.

But the song was being freely aired on TV and radio and was even available on cassettes.

Apart from the request for the ban, Kalra also sought a directive to the censor board to withdraw the movie’s certificate of exhibition.

Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, who loves to play the moral policeman and cut out “lewd” content from TV, might have jumped in with gusto, axe in hand.

But the court chose not to follow the information and broadcasting minister’s example and dismissed the petition.