'Water' may yet hang fire

By J. P. Shukla

LUCKNOW, FEB. 3. The shooting of Ms. Deepa Mehta's film, Water, continues to be bogged down by uncertainty, with the Uttar Pradesh Government adopting an ambiguous attitude despite the Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry's fresh permission to the producer to shoot the film.

It seems the hardliners in the Sangh Parivar are still not prepared to withdraw their opposition to the film which, according to them, is an attempt to denigrate Hindu ethos and the city of Varanasi. While the bureaucracy has been awaiting further developments, political leaders who had belligerently opposed the film have been finding it difficult to change their stance despite the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee's clearance after certain changes in the script.

The Chief Minister, Mr. Ram Prakash Gupta, talking to newspersons here this evening, said it was his hope that an amicable settlement would be found. Denying that the Government had taken a decision to stop the shooting of the film, he said the District Magistrate of Varanasi had informed the authorities in Lucknow that a law and order problem had been created with the local population taking exception to the film's script.

Any further development would depend on the attitude of the citizens of Varanasi. ``It will have to be seen how the people of Kashi react to it.'' However, he felt that with the changes made in the script there should be no opposition to the shooting.

Sections of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, however, continue to be adamant in their opposition despite the fresh clearance given to Ms. Mehta by the I&B Ministry. The Parivar may not come out into the open to confront the Union Government but allow some newly-floated organisations to take the lead in public protests from Varanasi against the shooting. The name of Kashi Vidwat Parishad, an organisation of scholars from Varanasi, has already come into focus with demands being made that Ms. Mehta give them the script for examination. The shooting could be allowed only if nothing objectionable were found in the script.

The State's Principal Home Secretary, Mr. V.K. Mittal, said today that the District Magistrate of Varanasi had been asked to hold an exercise to bring the two parties to the negotiating table to resolve the issue.

With certain objectionable portions having been deleted from the script, the cause for protest might have been addressed. However, the State Home Department would not advise the District Magistrate to create a law and order problem by allowing the shooting of the film, if resentment among the local people persists, Mr. Mittal said.

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