NEW DELHI, FEB 28: The Government on Monday informed the Rajya Sabha that it did not receive any protest from any quarter on the content of the film Hey Ram which allegedly denigrated Mahatma Gandhi. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley said during Question Hour that there was no need for the prior permission to make the film as producer of the film Kamal Hassan is an Indian. He told Jayanti natarajan of the Congress that if there was any protest, it would be referred to the Censor Board for review. Jaitley said there is an appeals board to tackle the matter in due process of law. Natarajan made the reference when the House was witnessing an uproarious scene on the issue of termination of the shooting of the film Water in Varanasi following protests by a section of the people. Nominated member of the House and star cast of the film Shabana Azmi alleged in a raised voice that the protests in Varanasi were `fabricated'. Several members were of the view that the order of the Union Government which cleared the script of the film, could not be implemented in Uttar Pradesh. In his reply to the main question of Nilotpal Basu, the Minister said the State Government was informed on February two that the modified script of the film had been cleared by the I and B ministry and the shooting be allowed. Even though some people were protesting against certain mention in the script of the film, their indulgence in violence could not be tolerated, he said. The Minister clarified that since film director Deepa Mehta is a foreign national, she needed the prior permission of the Government to shoot the film. He made it clear that the producer even after completing the film would have to get the final approval from the Central Government. Noted film personality Mrinal Sen, referring to his own experience in film making, said that the protesters could be the people with certain vested interests.
