Focus on certification rather than censoring: Jha on Lipstick Under My Burkha row

Mumbai: Condemning the decision of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for refusing to certify his upcoming Bollywood flick 'Lipstick Under My Burkha', producer Prakash Jha said, "This problem will end only when we will focus on certification rather than censoring the movie."

Talking exclusively to ANI, Jha said, "Central Board of Film Certification have certain people, who have their own thought process and they interpret the guidelines differently."

"I believe my film is a beautiful story about section of women, who feel these things but never say something like this. The movie, 'Lipstick Under My Burkha', states how suffocated their lives are and how suffocated their dreams become. It is not about Burkha, but it's a story about Ratna Pathak, who is a Hindu and Ahana, who is also a Hindu," the ace director said.

Stating that many issues were raised before the release of 'Rajneeti' and 'Aarakshan', 'Jai Gangaajal', the 64-year-old said, "This time also we will go to tribunal."

"Indian audience is mature enough and they know what is right and wrong," feels Prakash Jha after his latest Bollywood movie ' Lipstick Under My Burkha' was denied certification by Central Board of Film Certification ( CBFC).

The ace producer told ANI, "These problems were also raised before the release of 'Rajneeti', 'Aarakshan' and 'Jai Gangaajal'. That time we went to tribunal and this time also we will go to tribunal."

"We should view this movie in an open minded way and we should agree that Indian audience is also mature and they know what is right and wrong," he added.

Talking further about the repo that he shares with Pahlaj Nihalani, he said, "I share a good repo with Censor Board chairman Pahlaj Nihalani. He is a great producer of our Hindi Film industry and I have no personal issues with him."

The film has been directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and produced by Prakash Jha.

It stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur in lead roles along with Sushant Singh, Vikrant Massey, Shashank Arora, Vaibbhav Tatwawdi and Jagat Singh Solanki.

The film premiered at the Tokyo and Mumbai Film Festivals, where it won the Spirit of Asia Prize and the Oxfam Award for best film on gender equality.