Aaja Nachle almost trips-on a caste line

UP had banned the movie yesterday, when it was released, with Chief Minister and BSP leader Mayawati complaining that the line ‘Bazaar me machi hai mara maar, kahe mochi bhi khud ko sonar’ hurt the sentiments of Dalits.

But this morning, Mayawati lifted the ban after the film’s director Yash Chopra handed over a written apology to Principal Secretary (Home) J N Chamber. Within hours, Punjab and Haryana banned the film, before Punjab revoked the ban following another apology from the film-maker and the assurance that the offending song would be removed. Even the Haryana ban is expected to be revoked soon, with the government waiting for a similar move from Chopra.

Chopra, meanwhile, said in a statement: “Yash Raj films apologises to all the people whose sentiments have been hurt by the lyrics of one line in the title track of Aaja Nachle. We have taken immediate steps to rectify the damage caused and have instructed all our distributors and exhibitors to delete the objectionable words from the song as of last night.”

The film’s director Anil Mehta said: “With the cut, viewers will notice a jump in the scene because it is a physical cut on the prints. All theatre owners will do it.” The song, written by lyricist Piyush Mishra, plays around 20 minutes into the dance-musical. “This is an entertaining film, we never thought we would end up in this situation, especially since we had got an unqualified okay (without cuts) from the Censor Board,” said Mehta.

Lyricist Mishra said people should not “doubt his intentions”. Speaking to The Sunday Express, he said: “I’m at a loss. People might object to the use of certain words, but they shouldn’t doubt my intention. The line talks about two professions. I have always been associated with theatre and have been involved in plays for underprivileged people. But I am not so stubborn that I won’t apologise for lyrics if it has hurt the sentiments of a certain section of the people.”

Meanwhile, responding to the matter raised during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha by RPI’s Ramdas Athavale, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi clarified that the government “does not interfere in the functioning of the Censor Board which is headed by a distinguished film personality Sharmila Tagore”.

Tagore, a Bollywood veteran, told The Sunday Express that the line in question was “slightly overlooked” and some “miscalculation” was made. “Nevertheless, if somebody has been offended and if any particular community has been hurt then we are prepared to apologise,” she said.

However, Tagore stressed there was no reason for the film to be banned. “The music of the film has been in the market for a long time now, but nobody had registered any complaints. The line has been taken out of context. My committee which had reviewed the film had seen it as a profession-based remark and not a caste-based slight or insult,” she said.

In UP, the lifting of the ban, said officials, is based on the condition that theatre owners screening the movie in the state would submit affidavits with the respective district magistrates that the controversial line had been removed.

Said Chamber: “Yash Chpra has sent a written apology to us and also an assurance that in future they would be careful not to use any such words or phrases that might hurt the sentiments of people. That is sufficient to lift the ban.”

And while Haryana Chief Secretary Promilla Issar said the government was waiting for a similar assurance from the film crew, Punjab Chief Secretary R I Singh said: “We have received a fax from the producers (Yash Raj Fims) informing us that the words that were hurting the sentiments of a section of people have been removed from the lyrics of the song. The ban is being removed in the wake of this undertaking.”

Why the hurt and anger

Bazaar me machi hai mara maar, kahe mochi bhi khud ko sonar

• Censor Board chief Sharmila Tagore said this line was seen by her panel as a “profession-based remark, not a caste-based slight or insult.” Same point was echoed by song-writer Piyush Mishra. They overlook the association of caste with class (and profession) in large parts of India

• Sonar is an artisan-based caste and is part of backward class (OBC). Mochi, as a profession, is usually associated with Dalits. This song mocks the yearning of upward mobility by a Dalit: Sharad Yadav, president JD(U).

• It humiliates the Mochi community for its dream to become a member of a caste above it. This is ill-informed, insulting and insensitive: Rajesh Verma, Leader of BSP Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha.

• It touches a raw nerve if you are a Dalit, it says a Mochi must remain a Mochi. This is against upward mobility: Udit Raj, Indian Justice Party