HC allows Shaktimaan telecast to continue

In view of this, producer Mukesh Khanna who plays the title role in the serial withdrew his petitions against Doordarshan and News Media with regard to reports about reported accidents involving children who attempted to emulate the super hero.

A single judge of the Delhi High Court had passed an order on March 19 setting up a three-member expert panel chaired by retired judge Justice H L Anand, senior journalist Dilip Padgaonkar, and National Commission for Women chairperson Vibha Parthasarthy. The committee in its report of July 8 had held that all the reports of accidents against the serial appeared to be false and that the serial had in fact the potential of being used to inculcate positive values in children. This was because the serial is followed by a short on Body is Temple8217; which attempts to convey positive messages to children about taking better care of themselves.

Khanna told a news conference here this evening that 84 episodes had already been telecast. The serial is now telecast every Sunday at 12 noon on DD-I. He said he will seek an extension as the story is likely to be longer. He added that the serial was rated among the top three.

He said in reply to a question that after the various reports had appeared in the media, he had hired a private detective agency which had visited places from where the reports emanated and found them all to be false. He had moved the courts when doordarshan threatened to stop the serial in view of the press reports.

He announced that the next episode of Body is Temple8217; on October 31 will attempt to convey the message that Diwali is a festival of lights, not sound8217; and therefore children should not play with noise making crackers. He will also attempt to educate them about the precautions they should take while playing with fire crackers.

Khanna said he was now planning to start Friends of Shaktimaan Club to convey the values being conveyed through his programme. He said children appeared to take moral sermons more easily from a television hero than from a parent because he did not talk down to them.