'Aligarh' fails to make it to cinema halls in Aligarh

 Manoj Bajpai starer movie “Aligarh” may have won acclaim from the critics in other parts of the country but the movie could not be screened in Aligarh, about 400 km from here, reportedly owing to protests.

 Students and teachers from the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) as well as the saffron activists, who claim that the movie, which is based on the life of a gay professor of AMU, was an attempt to “tarnish” the image of the town.

“Why this title (Aligarh)... the producers and directors could have given a different title to the film... it is certainly an attempt to defame our town,” said the firebrand BJP leader and Aligarh Mayor Shakuntala Bharti.

“We can not tolerate such attempts... we will not allow the screening of the movie here,” Bharti added.

AMU student leader Fahim Akhtar also voiced his strong opposition to the Hansal Mehta movie and said he will lodge a complaint with the police against it.

  “The film has brought disrepute to the town, which is famous for its culture and love for literature and art,” Akhtar said.

The AMU teaching faculty has also criticised the movie and said it had tarnished the image of the city outside.

The CPI, however, demanded that the film be released saying that there was nothing wrong in showing life of a gay person.

The movie, which was released on Friday in other parts of the country, is yet to be screened in Aligarh as the cinema hall owners feared that they might face protests from the people.

A petition has also been filed in the high court against the movie.  
Siras, professor at AMU, was reportedly a gay and he had been suspended from the varsity for the same. He, however, was reinstated on a court order.

Prof Siras was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his flat in Aligarh six years back.

Siras, professor at AMU, was reportedly a gay and he had been suspended from the varsity for the same