Bollywood takes on honour killing

As the number of couples killed in the name of honour continues to grow, several Bollywood directors have decided to take on the issue through cinema.

It was only a matter of time before the pyaar ke dushman — the Khap panchayats — found their way to the silver screen. As the number of couples killed in the name of honour continues to grow, several Bollywood directors have decided to take on the issue through cinema.

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After Dibakar Banerjee’s Love, Sex Aur Dhoka, National Award winning filmmaker Priyadarshan, TV soap maker Ajai Sinha and director Avtar Bhogal are the latest to make films on honour killings.

Priyadarshan’s under-production film, Akrosh, is a hard hitting film that deals with love across caste barriers and honour killing set in Bihar. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna and Bipasha Basu.

Sinha, who is known for TV soaps such as Ghar Ek Sapna and Astitva, decided to make Khap—A Story Of Honour Killing after he read about the issue. “These killings have taken place even in the Capital. My film has borrowed from many such incidents in the recent past,” says Sinha. His film stars Om Puri, Yuvika Chaudhary, and Mohnish Behl, and currently is in post-production stages.

Director Avtar Bhogal’s Honour Killing — God Forgive Me traces honour killings among NRIs in UK. Bhogal, who directed Dimple Kapadia and Raj Babbar starrer Zakhmi Aurat in 1988, says, “Honour killing is not a subject for commercial cinema and I may end up losing my investment. But, I want to urge the authorities to take action.”