'Dirty Picture' TV premiere stalled, director Milan Luthria shocked

Mumbai, April 22 (IANS) Director Milan Luthria, who helmed "The Dirty Picture", is shocked and disappointed after the television premiere of his film was stalled at the last minute despite the movie being submitted with 59 cuts.

"I am shocked and disappointed that this decision was taken at the last moment. For the last two months we have been working on this and as per the rule few scenes had to be cut to get the U/A certificate. Don't harass us like this," Luthria told IANS.

"We re-submitted the film after 59 cuts. Now I am curious to know why this happened. DVDs of the films are already out and many people have already seen it," Luthria added.

The film, which is reportedly based on the story of late southern actress Silk Smitha and fetched actress Vidya Balan her first National Award, was to be shown at 12 noon and at 8 p.m. Sunday on Sony TV. However, was not shown.

Sony ran a ticker saying: "For unavoidable reasons we regret to inform that the film 'The Dirty Picture' will not be telecast today. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted."

The film also features Tusshar Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Emraan Hashmi. While Tusshar expressed his disappointment over the decision of not showing the film, filmmaker Karan Johar too is surprised and calls it "hypocrisy".

"A national award winning film cannot have a national telecast??? this is not an irony but plain and simple hypocrisy!!!! #dirtypicture. If the censorship is not a final authority then what is??? Complicated and blurred lines defeat the core of democracy!!!! #dirtypicture," Karan tweeted.