MUMBAI, Dec 4: As prominent citizens petitioned the Supreme Court of India against Chief Minister Manohar Joshi's open support of the violent attacks on theatres screening Fire, the Centre today turned the film over to the Censor Board for ``re-examination.''Playwright Vijay Tendulkar, actor Dilip Kumar, filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Yash Chopra, Justice (retd) H Suresh, among others, said in a letter to Chief Justice A S Anand, that the Chief Minister's endorsement of the actions of ``hooligans (who) were allowed to have a field day'' destroying theatres and ripping off posters in the halls where Fire was being screened'' amounted to official sanction to lawlessness. They prayed that the letter be admitted as a public interest litigation and taken up early considering the urgency of the situation. Chief Justice Anand has referred the letter to the PIL bench of Justice A P Mishra.Expressing surprise that the Chief Minister had actually congratulated those involved in the act, the petitionersobserved that any objection to a censor-certified film should follow established legal norms, like approaching the High Court against the certification.``It is sad if such acts of lawlessness, violence should be permitted or encouraged to infringe on and violate the fundamental rights of the common citizens,'' the letter read.The Centre, which came under immense attack in Parliament on Thursday, woke up to the situation today but only to recommend the unusual step of review of the certificate granted by the censor board. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who announced the review in Delhi under the powers conferred on the Central Government by the Cinematograph (certification) Rules 1983, however, made no reference to the vanadalism of the Shiv Sainiks or the Chief Minister's glowing praise for them.The Centre is expected to take a decision on the film after it receives the board's opinion.In Mumbai, though Joshi seemed to be firefighting at a personal level,Mantralaya and Matoshree (Thackeray's residence) were clearly unrepentant. Bal Thackeray told The Indian Express that his party would never allow Fire to be screened again. ``I am not concerned about the decision of either the Centre or the censor board. My party has already banned the film,'' he declared.Justifying the agitation, Thackeray said such films should be banned as they spoiled the younger generation. ``In my opinion, the entire film is against the grain of Indian culture. Such films are common in the western world, but under no circumstances, should they be allowed in India,'' he added and launched into a personal attack on Shabana Azmi. ``Who is Shabana to teach us morality? Everybody knows about her,'' he said making some unsavoury references to her personal and marital life.Joshi tempered down a bit today. He said agitations against the movie should be peaceful and qualified his endorsement of the violence of the previous two days: ``Every one has a right to demonstrate but it isimproper to damage theatres. I had congratulated the activists for getting the screening stalled, not for their act of damaging theatres. I still stick to my policy of being proud about the people who are proud of our culture,'' he said in a late night statement.With his bosses setting the tone, Minister of State for Home Gajanan Kirtikar played along. He told a press conference that the State Government was considering a ban on the film on the grounds that its screening might ``adversely affect the law and order situation'' in Mumbai.He said Police Commissioner R H Mendonca has been asked to study the repercussions of the screening of the film and submit his report to the government. The government, he said, was ``well within its powers'' to order a ban on screenings. Mendonca, who was present during Kirtikar's briefing, said 31 Shiv Sena activists had been arrested so far and that police protection was provided to Cinemax and New Empire, the two cinema halls which bore the brunt of the protestors'fury.
