Jai Gangaajal, the latest Bollywood offering from director Prakash Jha stable, has hit choppy waters even before its release.
The Priyanka Chopra-starrer has left BJP legislator from Bankipore fuming. The real-life MLA claims that Jha has tried to tarnish his image by portraying one of the reel villains as "Bankipore MLA".
Nitin Navin, the legislator from Bankipore for three consecutive times, has approached the ministry of information and broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification for deleting the word "Bankipore" from the film. The MLA has also written a letter to film director Prakash Jha for changing the word "Bankipore", failing which he would move court against Jha under the Cinematography Act, 1952.
According to Nitin, the villain in the film that releases on March 4 is said to be the MLA from Bankipore Assembly constituency, elected for several terms.
The bahubali (strongman) MLA in the movie claims that all activities in his constituency run on his will, whims and discretion and his diktat is the ultimate word for its residents.
Nitin said: "The use of the word 'Bankipore' in the film trailer resembles the name of my constituency, harming my reputation in the eye of my voters."
The MLA said members of the electorate alerted him about the wrongful portrayal of his constituency in the yet-to-be-released film.
Sources said Jha's Jai Gangaajal is set on the fictional Bankipore, where the protagonist, superintendent of police Abha Mathur, played by Priyanka Chopra, is sent to the district to control lawlessness. In the movie, the four-time legislator of "Bankipore" has been portrayed as a criminal-politician, which the MLA has found objectionable.
Reacting to the charges levelled against the portrayal in the film, director Jha, who was in Patna on Friday, said: "The movie bears no resemblance with Bihar. The script has nothing to do with Bihar politics. Also the role of the police officer essayed by Priyanka Chopra wears the uniform of the Madhya Pradesh police."
Jha added: "While shooting the movie, we decided to use the name of the constituency, Bankipore, without any ill-intention. Moreover, there is nothing in the film to hurt the sentiments of anyone."
However, the BJP lawmaker claimed on Friday that by using the word "Bankipore", the director had tried to tarnish his image as there was only one Assembly constituency in the country called "Bankipore".
"Also, in the trailer, the villain claims himself as representing the constituency for several terms. I have been representing the Assembly constituency for three times," added Nitin, drawing a parallel between the reel character and himself.
Jha, who hails from West Champaran district of north Bihar, has been making movies highlighting various social issues prevalent in the country. His movie, Mrityudand, which released in 1997 and starred Madhuri Dixit and Shabana Azmi, focused on the social problems that plague Bihar. Also, Gangaajal, another movie directed by Jha and starring Ajay Devgn that released in 2003, had mention of the infamous blinding incident that occurred in Bhagalpur in the 1980s.
Sources said on earlier occasion too, leaders and political parties have opposed movie releases whenever they felt that a particular character in the movie hurt them. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film, Bajirao Mastani, starring Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh, too had to face trouble after a Shiv Sena MLA demanded that the Maharashtra government ban the movie claiming that it portrayed Peshwa Bajirao incorrectly.
