'Steamy' Bengali film referred to censor board chief

Kolkata, June 29 (IANS): A ready-for-release Bengali film dealing with love and lust has ruffled the feathers of the regional censor board, which has held back its certification.

'Hotath Neerar Jonye', the celluloid adaptation of a short story by acclaimed Bengali writer Sunil Ganguly, has not gone down well with the board, which reportedly found it "detrimental to Bengali culture".

The regional censor committee says it has not refused certification but has also not explained its hesitation in granting one. It has now referred the film to censor board chairman Anupam Kher.

The film, directed by Subrata Sen, is slated for release July 9.

'Hotath Neerar Jonye' deals with a man who pursues his former lover, who is now married and has a child.

It examines the finer nuances of lust and love through the central character of a musician played by noted tabla player Bikram Ghosh. Jaya Seal plays the female lead.

Sen, who was called by the regional censor board officials Monday, said they labelled his film as "detrimental to Bengali culture".

Censor officer Abhay Srivastav, however, didn't say the film had been denied certification. He said the film had been referred to Kher.

Sen and other people connected with the film have criticised the censor board's move.

"It hurts to be told that we are hurting Bengali culture by making a film based on a story written by Sunil Ganguly," Sen said.

Ganguly, who wrote the story some 30 years ago, also expressed his "shock" at the questions being raised by the censor board.

The film retains about 90-95 percent of the dialogues from the original story titled 'Rani O Abinash'.