JOIN USThe protagonist of a Bollywood film had to grow by two years within a week, thanks to a diktat from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Paras Arora (19), who has been cast opposite actress Kangna Ranaut in “Rajjo”, has now been made 21 years old in the romantic musical after the Board found him a little young for romance and marriage as per the law of the land.
As the CBFC directive reached the producer and director of the film, they preferred to increase the on-screen age of Arora by two years, apparently to avoid any hurdle in its release in theatres.
The Censor Board asked the makers of the movie to enhance the age of the character to 21 years soon after the screening of the film before it at Mumbai last week. The Board was of the view that showing Arora as 18-19 years of age in the movie will send out a wrong message to the youngsters as the legal marriageable age for men in India was 21 years, sources said.
The film is to be released in theatres on Friday. The story was written by Sahitya Akademi Award winner Jayant Pawar and Vishwas Patil, who is also its producer.
“We have increased the on-screen age of the hero to 21 complying with the directive of the Board. But, I found it (directive from CBFC) funny because the Board raised objection to a story which was written by a person who was given Sahitya Academi Award by the government,” Patil told Deccan Herald, when his reactions were sought.
The Board had also objected to the use of a word in the film, although it was not offensive. “We deleted the word. It doesn’t make any difference. We have to release the movie,” Patil added.
A romantic musical, “Rajjo” is the journey of a Nautch girl in the most extraordinary circumstances. It tells the love story of Rajjo (Kangana Ranaut) and Chandu (Paras Arora) set against the backdrop of the dying brothels of Mumbai.
Arora, who is a well-known television actor, shot to fame with his critically acclaimed role in “Veer Shivaji” serial.
DH News Service