Kabir Khan slams CBFC for refusing certificate to 'Lipstick...'

After Farhan Akhtar, Shyam Benegal and Ashoke Pandit, filmmaker Kabir Khan has slammed the Central Board of Film Certification's move to "refuse" a certificate to director Prakash Jha's "Lipstick Under My Burkha", terming it "ridiculous".

"It's a strange situation and problem lies when these kind of incidents are happening regularly. Watching a film is a voluntary act. It is not forced on anyone and two-three people sitting out there in CBFC cannot take decision for the entire society, which is absolutely ridiculous," Kabir said at the screening of short film "The Strange Smile" here on Friday.

"We say India is a global power, but I think global powers don't act like this. They think society is so fragile that after seeing a particular film, our values can be damaged. Now the time has come for the industry people to formally stand up against this and shout for their rights," he added.

CBFC listed the reasons for denial of the certificate in a letter where it said: "The story is lady oriented, their fantasy about life. There are continuous sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and a bit sensitive touch about one particular section of society, hence film refused under guidelines."

Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, the film speaks about four women, from different sections of society who are seeking freedom and want to fulfil their desires. The film stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur in lead roles along with Sushant Singh, Vikrant Massey, Shashank Arora, Vaibbhav Tatwawdi and Jagat Singh Solanki.

The film has been screened at various film festivals and has won the Spirit of Asia Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival and the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality at the Mumbai Film Festival.

--IANS

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