Supreme Court judgment on 'Aarakshan' historic: Big B

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has expressed happiness over the Supreme Court's decision to lift ban on "Aarakshan" in Uttar Pradesh, calling it a "historic" decision as no state or institution can now ban a film that has been cleared by the censor board.

"The Supreme Court judgement in our favour for the film 'Aarakshan' has been a historic decision. No state or institution has the capacity now to ban any film that has once been passed by the censor (board). Prakash Jha has through this independent move, removed the hurdle of every film in the future...," Big B posted on his blog Bigb.bigadda.com.

The Supreme Court Friday "quashed and set aside" the two-month ban imposed by the Uttar Pradesh government on the screening of filmmaker Prakash Jha's "Aarakshan".

A bench of Justice Mukundakam Sharma and Justice Anil R. Dave said the state government cannot seek deletion of certain portions of the film as this amounted to pre-censorship.

"Aarakshan", starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, deals with caste-based reservations in the Indian education system and many groups opposed the film fearing anti-Dalit comments in the narrative.

The 68-year-old is also happy with the kind of response the movie received despite opposition from various groups.

"So UP (Uttar Pradesh), where it was banned is now opened to 65 centres and the response even though delayed due to the ban has been extraordinary. The shows are being patronized by 90 to 100 percent audiences. It has already done a business of 58.3 crore and counting now with the fresh UP collections and with a sale of 22 crore for the satellite it is a most successful film," he wrote.

"I am happy for Prakash Jha. He took much pains in fighting the oppressor in this venture. But the ultimate decision shall not just benefit him but all films that shall be released in the future. He has in one swell move done great service for the entire Film Industry of the country," he further added. Click the Movie button below for more info:
Aarakshan