Censor Board clears Zakhm

DECEMBER 15: Bollywood producer Mukesh Bhatt's much troubled and delayed venture, Zakhm, will finally make it to the cinema houses soon. ...

DECEMBER 15: Bollywood producer Mukesh Bhatt8217;s much troubled and delayed venture, Zakhm, will finally make it to the cinema houses soon. The chairperson of the Censor Board of Film Certification CBFC, Asha Parekh, finally issued a censor certificate to the film today.

Bhatt had accused Parekh of refusing to issue the certificate till she gets a written apology from the film8217;s co-writer and associate director, Tanuja Chandra, allegedly for making derogatory statements about Parekh in the press.

The film was first submitted to the censor board nearly two months ago. It had scenes shot on the backdrop of communal tension and a riot-torn Mumbai. Parekh had referred the film to the Union Home Ministry for its approval. The ministry had recommended three cuts/reshoots including scenes of a Muslim boy and another person being beaten up by a cop, another scene of three persons wearing saffron bands and a third showing a nexus between the police and fundamentalists. 8220;The first scene was reshot withoutthe cop, others were corrected digitally,8221; Chandra told Express Newsline from Bhopal.

The revised version of the film was submitted to the censor board on December 11. The board8217;s regional officer, S Kutty, along with a member of the examining committee watched the revised version, approved and sealed the tape, ready for the chairperson to sign.

8220;I spoke to Parekh on the evening of December 11. She said that she would not sign the certificate till she gets a written apology from Tanuja for saying that the chairperson referred the film to the ministry on the basis of just the synopsis without watching it fully,8221; Bhatt said. 8220;How is a producer responsible for what the co-writer of the film says in print?8221; he asked. Bhatt had even approached the president of Film Makers8217; Combine FMC for intervention in the matter.

FMC president Shakti Samanta informed that he had received a complaint from Bhatt but couldn8217;t get through to Parekh today. Both Bhatt and Parekh were not available for commenttoday. The film which has already suffered a loss of over Rs two crore in two months will be released soon.