This story is from December 5, 2008

Wrong notes?

Onir refuses to say sorry for the charges levelled against him by Rabbi Shergill and is livid with the country’s moral police.
Wrong notes?
Being called a sinner!
I���ve no problems if my film, Sorry Bhai, is criticised but why call my film un-Indian just because I have shown Chitrangada having a physical relationship with her fianc�����s brother? I���ve been told that showing a bhabi indulge in a physical relationship with her dewar is akin to having a physical relationship with one���s mother! Firstly, Chitrangada is not a sister-in-law.
1x1 polls
Moreover, hasn���t our Mahabharata shown Draupadi getting married to five brothers? My film talks of situations and doesn���t advocate anything. How can we forget Tagore���s Nashtonir or Ray���s Charulata? Moral policing claiming that watching this film is a ���sin��� only expresses regressive North Indian values.
Chitrangada hasn���t played a man-eater. She is a woman who is honest about her feelings. But moral policing, I���m afraid, demotivates people, affects viewership and kills the courage of new film-makers to explore interesting themes in Indian cinema.
Plagiarism and I:
My music composer, Gaurav Dayal, had signed a contract saying all the songs were original. Two days before the film���s release, Rabbi put a stay order on my film saying that Jalte hain is a copy of his song, Ballo. Initially, the High Court had asked us either to delete the song and portions where the music of song has been used in the background or push the release or go for an out-of-court settlement.
While the music budget for my film was Rs 10 lakh, the money asked for an out-of-court settlement was a whopping amount. We agreed to delete the song and the portions where the song���s music was used as a background. Meanwhile, Gaurav had a word with Rabbi about Ballo (for which Gaurav was credited in his album as one of the producers). We again played the songs in the judge���s chamber. By then, we had also discovered that Ballo is a lift or an inspiration of a song called Aisha. Finally, the stay order was vacated. Rabbi appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay of the High Court order. His plea has been
rejected by the Supreme Court and the case has been put up for a future date without any notice.
author
About the Author
Priyanka Dasgupta

Priyanka Dasgupta is the features editor of TOI Kolkata. She has over 20 years of experience in covering entertainment, art and culture. She describes herself as sensitive yet hard-hitting, objective yet passionate. Her hobbies include watching cinema, listening to music, travelling, archiving and gardening.

End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA