The much brouhaha about stalling the screening of ‘The Dirty Picture’ on television continues. Speaking to a daily, the film’s leading lady, Vidya Balan, opposed the I &B ministry’s decision to stall the screening of the film on primetime television.

"It defies logic when the same government body that has honoured a film with three National Awards is now calling for the film not to be broadcast on national television! What is even more astounding is that the censor board, which has cleared the film for television broadcast, is under the aegis of the very same government body! I do hope that better sense prevails and that the film industry is not once again used as a convenient high-profile punching bag for anyone looking to establish their moral credentials,” said the national award winning actress.

The film went through 59 cuts and the makers of the TDP were still keen on airing it on television. But two PILs filed in Lucknow and Nagpur acted as the nail in the coffin. Eventually the film was aired at 11 pm. The film industry came out in full support of ‘TDP’ team and condemned the ban. Karan Johar spoke out against double standards, Mahesh Bhatt criticised the move and even music composer and singer Bappi Lahiri seemed to be upset. "Children today watch everything and it`s the parents who want to live in denial. I don`t find any justification behind not screening ‘TDP’ after it went through 59 cuts. I understand that Indian culture needs to be respected but the film did not have too many offensive scenes. It had some dialogues that were adult in content," said Lahiri.

Ironically, the film when released had been lauded for its bold content by all and sundry and Vidya Balan even got a government nod in form a Best Actress National Award. Rajesh Sharma, who played Vidya`s mentor in the film, said, "I have no problems with condom and sanitary napkin ads being shown on prime time. But yes, I understand that if the original version of ‘TDP’ was screened, it would have been provocative. It`s the same thing with the ‘Hate Story’ promos. But after 59 cuts if ‘TDP’ was not allowed to be beamed on prime time, I`m sure there is some politicking at work."