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The show is on. After a mild scare, Aamir Khan's Rang De Basanti finally hits theatres on Friday. Even the usually unflappable Khan would have missed a few heartbeats as he waited for IAF officials to clear his movie at a special screening of the movie at the Film Division's VVIP Auditorium on Mahadev Road. The show was organised after the film created a flutter in the Defence Ministry with claims that there were some "objectionable scenes on the IAF and MiGs”. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee was one of the VIPs who attended the preview on Tuesday evening. Aamir Khan, the top brass of the armed forces — including Army Chief Gen JJ Singh, IAF Chief Air Marshal SP Tyagi, Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash — and senior officials of the I&B Ministry sat through the film. Later, Mukherjee told Hindustan Times, "It's for the Censor Board to decide. It's not my job as I don't understand films". The minister attended the show on the request of Censor Board chief Sharmila Tagore. It was for the first time in 40 years that Mukherjee sat through a film for a full-three hours. I&B officials had earlier stated that only the Censor Board can review its certificate and the ministry has no role to play. Though Aamir managed to get his film cleared, sources say he cut it too close. "There is a clip at the end of the film which gives figures of MiG-21 crashes and the names of their pilots. This could have ruffled a few feathers. However, the Air Force cleared it," a source said. Film producer Ronnie Screwala said, "Rang De Basanti is an inspirational
film and sends a positive message to youngsters." The film talks
of five friends, one an IAF fighter pilot. He dies in a crash and his
friends rally round the family to find the cause of the accident. In the
process, they uncover similar accidents and a web of murky defence deals. |