Forced out

Sir — It is surprising that the screams of a starlet, who has married the son of an influential politician, resulted in the forcible deportation of monkeys ( “Darling, deport the devils”, April 24). This is not a case of simians harassing humans; it is the other way round. In this incident, the monkeys had not encroached upon human habitation. Upscale housing societies have displaced them from their natural habitat. There ought to be strict rules imposed so as to prevent human beings from monkeying around.

Yours faithfully,
Chameli Pal, Batanagar

Unkind cut

Sir — The decision by the Union information and broadcasting ministry to disallow the telecast of the Hindi film, The Dirty Picture, as per schedule is shocking (“Too dirty for daytime view”, April 23). The ministry had directed a private channel to show the film between 11 pm and 6 am only.

The choice to view anything on television should be left entirely to viewers. One should take note of the fact that this movie has won three national awards, and has achieved commercial success as well. The information and broadcasting ministry’s disapproval undermines the awards and the praise that have been heaped on the film. If anyone is uncomfortable watching the film on television, he always has the option of switching channels to view any other programme. After all, there are numerous channels running on television.

It is high time viewers are allowed to decide what they want to see and what they do not.The concept of censorship is problematic. The Dirty Picture is an excellent film and includes superlative performances. By rescheduling the telecast of the movie, the ministry concerned is behaving as if The Dirty Picture has pornographic content.

Yours faithfully,
Abhishek Pandey, Calcutta

Sir — It is indeed surprising that the telecast of The Dirty Picture on an entertainment channel was stopped during prime time by the government. This is all the more confusing because Vidya Balan, who plays the lead character in the film, was honoured with a national award. Such an orthodox attitude towards films is unacceptable. These days, people have an easy access to websites meant for adult entertainment on the internet. A liberal attitude towards award-winning films is the need of the hour.

Yours faithfully,
Madhu Agrawal, Dariba, Delhi

Sir — As a senior citizen and as someone with a pragmatic mind, I would like to share my views on the controversy over the Union ministry’s order regarding the telecast of The Dirty Picture on television.

Obscenity in art and literature is a debatable issue in a country such as ours. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had asked for 58 cuts to The Dirty Picture before it was to be shown on television. It is surprising to see the Central ministry objecting to the film’s telecast during prime time even though the film was subjected to a number of cuts. Will India’s boys and girls go astray merely by watching a film like The Dirty Picture?

Isn’t it ironical that a film that has already won three national awards has been ordered to be shown only between 11pm and 6 am? Has this been done to satisfy the whims of parents who still profess a medieval mindset? Tusshar Kapoor, who acted alongside Vidya Balan in the film, tweeted his disappointment. Balaji Telefilms will be equally disappointed with the fate of the film that has grossed crores at the box office.

Yours faithfully,
Dilip Kumar Kar, Jalpaiguri