Plea in SC for Fire

But the two women in the eye of the storm, Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das, were nowhere to be seen. The Rajya Sabha member, who plays Radha in Fire, is in London, and Das, who acts as Nita, has fractured a foot. 8220;But of course they are with us in this even ifthey could not be here,8221; said Mehta.

Representatives of organisations such as Ankur, Sakhi and Saheli carried placards reading 8220;Lesbianism is part of Indian heritage8221;, 8220;Our right to freedom of speech and expression is on Fire8221;, and 8220;Shiv Sainiks are terrorists, not moralists8221;. Media presence also briefly turned the protest into a press conference. Mehta said she was there not just to protest against attacks on her film but also to 8220;demand the right to freedom8221;.

The owner of Regal cinema, Siddeshwar Dayal, too, came out of the theatre to join the protesters on the road. Mehta apologised to him for the damage to the theatre while he in turn told the press he would be willing to screen the film again if the Government granted him protection against the Shiv Sena.

Producer Bedi said it was a sad experience but not a new one. He was referring to his earlier experience with screening Shekhar Kapur8217;s Bandit Queen. 8220;We know all about this and we will fight,8221; said Bedi.

The strugglemanifested itself as a plea filed in the Supreme Court earlier in the day. Moved under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petition seeks enforcement of the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 14, 19 1 a and 21 of the Constitution, and names Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray among respondents.

The petitioners, including Mehta, poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar, and journalist Teesta Setalvad, have sought appointment of an agency to conduct an investigation into the acts of violence in Mumbai and Delhi.