No TV premiere for The Dirty Picture

After weeks of promotions on Sony Entertainment Television, the telecast of The Dirty Picture (TDP), which was scheduled for Sunday from 12-4pm and a repeat from 8-11pm, was cancelled abruptly in an overnight decision. This came after the Ministry for Information & Broadcasting notified the


channel just a day before the telecast. Ironically, the film, which won three National Awards in the categories of Best Actress, Best Costume and Best Make-up, will be felicitated at a gala award ceremony in New Delhi on May 3.


Shocked with the sudden turn of events, director Milan Luthria retorts, “I don’t what’s happening in this country! How can they do that? To make the film fit for TV viewing, we re-edited it with 59 cuts and even obtained a U/A certificate from the censor board.”



Industry sources claim that the reason for the eleventh-hour decision was the fact that the I&B ministry received numerous complaints against airing of TDP during the daytime. Interestingly, on Friday, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by two petitioners, had decided against staying the telecast of the film as it had already undergone requisite editing for its TV premiere.