'Water' shooting banned for two weeks

By J. P. Shukla

LUCKNOW, FEB. 7. The shooting of the film ``Water'' by the celebrity film maker, Ms. Deepa Mehta, was today banned for two weeks by the District Magistrate, Varanasi, under Section 144 Cr.P.C. on apprehension of breach of peace. This was disclosed here by the Principal Home Secretary, Uttar Pradesh, Mr. V. K. Mittal.

The shooting was suspended on Sunday when a youth made a suicide bid by jumping into the Ganga after consuming poison. His condition is said to be critical.

Even as the District Magistrate advised Ms. Mehta to suspend shooting, she insisted that a written order be issued to her. The Magistrate later obliged her.

Ms. Mehta initially protested against the order but later decided to pack up and leave Varanasi, reports reaching here said.

In a related incident, a group of 15 Shiv Sena activists were arrested in Varanasi while demonstrating against Ms. Mehta near the hotel where she has been staying.

Earlier, the Chief Minister, Mr. Ram Prakash Gupta, told the press here that the State Government would not permit shooting. Asked what necessitated a ban on shooting of the film which had been cleared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Mr. Gupta said the Ministry might have its own parameters but public opinion was totally against the film. Had the shooting been banned earlier, Monday's suicide bid by the Varanasi youth could have been avoided.

The Chief Minister said it would be in Ms. Mehta's interest to leave Varanasi. ``What would happen, if some saint took a drastic step to end his life in protest against the shooting of the film?``, he asked. A delegation of scholars from Varanasi had also complained to him saying the image of Kashi had been tarnished by the film script.

Asked whether the State Government's decision would not bring it a bad name, Mr. Gupta said that instead it would improve its image as it had eliminated the chances of the holy city being thrown into a riot situation.

PTI, UNI report:

In Varanasi, Dr. K. K. Mishra, spokesman for the Kashi Sanskriti Raksha Sangharsh Samiti, which is spearheading the agitation, said the film unit would be ``thrown out'' of the holy city if it did not leave by 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The samiti, an amalgamation of several Sangh Parivar outfits, has also called for a Varanasi bandh tomorrow.

Asked about the samiti's threat, the Assistant Superintendent of Police, Dr. G. K. Goswami, said: ``Nobody can dare to harm the film crew. Their security is our prime concern.''Scores of Naga sadhus have also reportedly reached the city to take part in the protest against the film.

Justifying the administration's decision to stop the shooting, Dr. Goswami said, ``this city does not go with logic, it is governed by public sentiments.''

On the actress, Ms. Shabana Azmi's statement that the shooting was suspended on the basis of a protest by ``a handful of people'', he said: ``Here it does not even take minutes for a handful to turn into thousands.''

Meanwhile, one more organisation, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), threw its weight behind the protesters.

``We will not allow the shooting, not only in Varanasi but anywhere in the country,'' said Mahant Shankara Bharti, president of the ABAP, an organisation of all the 13 Akharas (schools of saints) of the country.

Supporting Tuesday's bandh call, the Mahant said, ``Deepa Mehta would not be allowed to stay in Varanasi,'' and advised her to ``pack up from Varanasi''. He also said Ms. Mehta should be asked to leave the country.

``We can go to any extent, even sacrifice our lives and take others' lives too,'' he declared. A meeting of different Akharas is to be held at Hardwar on February 15 and 16 to chalk out the future course of action.

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