NEW DELHI: “Padmavati” director Sanjay Leela Bhansali today appeared before a parliamentary standing committee on information technology to share his views on the controversy surrounding the film.
Censor board chief Prasoon Joshi earlier appeared before a parliamentary panel to brief members about the controversy over “Padmavati” and said the film had not yet been approved, sources said.
Joshi told the Lok Sabha Committee on Petitions that the censor board had only cleared the trailer and promos of the period film.
Sources said the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief told the panel that a decision on the film would be taken after showing it to experts.
Asked by a member whether as censor board chief he had seen the film, Joshi is learnt to have replied that he hadn’t.
The Lok Sabha Committee on Petitions had sought a report from the information and broadcasting ministry and the censor board after C P Joshi and Om Birla, two BJP MPs from Rajasthan, filed a plea on “objectionable content” in the film before the panel.
The officials, sources said, were of the view controversies are often created for commercial purposes though it was not clear in this case.
The panel had asked the officials for a report before November 30, senior BJP leader Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who heads the panel, had said earlier.
The parliamentary panel, which also looks into the issues of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, had called the meeting to discuss the problems and issues faced by the film.
It is headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur and its members are senior BJP leader LK Advani and film actor Raj Babbar, a Congress leader.-PTI
