Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 20, 2006
Sony Pictures has rejected the censor board's
notification that a disclaimer has to be put at the start and end of the film
The Do Vinci Code to clarify that it is a work of fiction.
In a press release, Sony Pictures said it
appreciates the 'adults' certificate being given for the movie without any
cuts asked for by the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC).
However, since the film already includes a
legal card at the end stating that the characters and incidents are fictitious,
the company does not believe any addition al or modified language is required
to restate the same.
The legal card reads, "The characters
and incidents portrayed and the names herein are fictitious, and any similarity
to the name, character or history of any person is entirely coincidental and
unintentional."
The note also states that the CBFC's request
for the text has resulted in delaying the film's release. However, Vinayak
Azad, regional officer of the censor board, said, "I don't think they
have rejected the order for a disclaimer, but we will definitely be scrutinising
the language that has been used in the disclaimer. Although the language may
not be the same, at least the intention that the film is a work of fiction
should definitely be there in it."
The CBFC gave the film an 'A' rating subject to the addition of the disclaimer
at the start and end of the film stating. "The film is a work of pure
fiction and has no correspondence to historical facts of the Christian religion."
Meanwhile, the Bombay high court on Friday
declined to stay the release of the movie even as it adjourned a petition
seeking a ban on the movie to June, when the court reopens after summer vacations.
Vacation judge K J Rohee said the petition
was "premature" since the censor board was still in the process
of issuing the film a certificate. The petition, filed by Joseph Dias of the
Catholic Secular Forum, urged the court to stay the release of the movie and
initiate action under Section 295A of the IPC against the censor board, Sony
Pictures and the film's distributors for hurting the religious sentiments
of Christians. Advocate Pradeep Havnur asked that the movie be screened for
the judge to decide the case.
The film, based on the best-selling book of
the same name by Dan Brown, stars Tom Hanks. The petitioners are against the
premise used in the movie that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and fathered a
child. The petitioners also objected to the portrayal of the Roman Catholic
church and the Opus Dei sect.
Meanwhile, city advocate G Coelho has filed
another petition seeking a ban on the movie Sacred Evil. The case will come
up for hearing on May 22.