Girlfriend´ And Its Promoters In Trouble
By: Abid
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The controvesial film ´Girlfriend´ has run into trouble . The Kranti Shiv Sena has protested against the film and vandalised a hall ´Sajan´ in the holy city of Varanasi. The student wing of the Shiv Sena , Bhartiya Vidhyarti Sena pulled and burned down the hoardings of the film at the Premiere theatre in Dadar ( Mumbai ) . Protests were also reported from a few other cities of U.P.

The Rashtriya Sawayesewak Sangh supremo Mr. K. Sudershan , in a press conference , severely reprimanded a film critic for wrongly gloryfying ´Girlfriend´ for commercial gains . He also quoted certain portions from the said review to prove his point and attacked the film saying that it was an insult to the " Indian Culture and the values that we stand for ".

Saffron groups find Girlfriend too hot

** I think, MURDER and HAWAS were MILD

June 14, 2004 17:56 IST


Activists of Hindu outfits on Monday forced suspension of screening of controversial film Girlfriend in Mumbai and Varanasi by staging protest demonstrations and tearing posters, triggering strong reactions from the film industry.

Nearly 100 activists of Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, student wing of Shiv Sena, tore posters and raised slogans outside a theatre in central Mumbai, forcing it to suspend the screening of the matinee show of the movie.

The theatre managers remitted the money to those who had bought tickets to watch the show.

In Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, activists of Kranti Shiv Sena, a breakway group of Shiv Sena, burnt posters and banners and tried to forcibly enter into a hall where the film was being screened, forcing the authorities to cancel the noon show.


The KSS activists indulged in heavy stone-pelting and damaged electrical fittings at the entrance gate of the hall, the police said. The police have been deployed at the theatre to maintain law and order.

Karan Razdan, director of the film based on the theme of lesbianism, termed the action as unfortunate and said, "How can the country run if such violence was permitted. We are not forcing people to see the movie, they are coming on their own."

"My film does not hurt any religious or spiritual sentiment. Nor is there any nudity or vulgar kissing scene. The theme is realistic and we also know there are some lesbian groups have come out in the open about the trend," Razdan claimed.

"Why don't these agitators take up issues of poverty and hunger? Why do these so-called guardians of morality not stand up for such issues?" he asked.

Coming down heavily against the protestors, noted director Mahesh Bhatt said, "What moral right do these people have to point fingers? I would be more happy if some of these organistions take up the issue of death of women due to starvation in various villages in India."

"I might find many things objectionable, that does not mean that I will tear it down or burn it," he said, adding the film has been screened after a censors' certification.

Censor Board Chief Anupam Kher said the film has been cleared after giving it an 'A' certificate and with a lot of cuts.

"Once we have issued a certificate, our job ends there. It is upto state government and the law and order machinery to ensure that the film was safely released," he said.

"However, if the city and state government feels that the screening of the film would create law and order problem, then they have every right to stop the screening of the film," he said.

Reacting to vandalism, Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy said such acts were illegal. "We will take strong action against them (protestors) and provide security to theatres screening the movie," he said.

The Shiv Sena protesting a movie they don't agree with and vandalizing theaters? There's a big surprise

yaar THANDA karke dekho!! phhonk maar kar!!

So are we gonna get more uncut lesbian empowerment on dvd?

http://www.behindwoods.com/girls.html


Lesbian Story : Girlfriend in Hindi comes as Girls in tamil



Hindi Movie Girlfriend which has story theme revolving around Leabianism is being dubbed and renamed in tamil as "Girls". Nothing could be further from the truth. One is a lesbian owing to child abuse, while the other is a lesbian only when she's smashed drunk. In fact, one can judge the intellectual richness of the story when we have a girl, on the morning after, vowing to stay clear of alcohol to avoid homosexuality! There is no exploration of or sensitivity to any other cause to promote an understanding of this still-taboo topic in India.

The theme of lesbianism has always stirred controversy in a conservative society like India. Popular director Deepa Mehta's film "Fire" on the same subject had generated countrywide protests a few years ago. An official of Ginni Arts, which has the distribution rights for "Girlfriend" in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, said that "The movie has been cleared by the censor board and I feel no one should have problems with the content".

Violence erupted in two Indian cities Monday as protestors demanded a ban on the Bollywood film "Girlfriend", objecting to its theme of alternate sexuality. The protestors tore down posters and banners of the movie that was released Friday. They smashed windowpanes and name boards of cinema halls screening the film.

Attacks on theatres were reported from the Hindu holy town of Varanasi and India's financial capital Mumbai. Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader K.S. Sudershan told reporters in Nagpur, Maharashtra, that such movies should be banned as they threatened to corrupt society with bad thoughts.

Will this movie face the same fate in Tamil?






"The protestors tore down posters and banners of the movie that was released Friday."

Maybe they put them up in their bedrooms

http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullst ... d=13499102

Now, gay activists frown on 'Girlfriend'


Wednesday, 16 June , 2004, 08:49

Mumbai: Gay activists in India are up in arms over what they call the negative portrayal of lesbianism in a new film, "Girlfriend", which has also drawn fire -- for different reasons -- from the Shiv Sena.

"'Girlfriend' reinforces all the negative stereotypes about lesbian and bisexual women," said Chatura, of the Organised Lesbian Alliance for Visibility and Action (OLAVA).

"Not only is it a cheap and titillation-oriented film masquerading as one that's liberal, but it portrays the minority community in a negative light," said Chatura.

"It has repercussions for people whose parents are trying to come to terms with their sexuality and gives bosses a tool with which to harass us," she said.

"Girlfriend", starring Isha Koppikar and Amrita Arora, is about two women who are close friends, sleep on the same bed and have once shared a sexual encounter. When one of them falls in love with a man, the other is consumed by jealousy and assumes the role of the jilted lover.

Critics say the film portrays lesbians as being unnatural and assumes that their sexual preferences are the result of psychological problems.

Leading homosexual activist Ashok Row Kavi said: "We have a major problem with director Karan Razdan for demonising lesbians. The film takes our sexual identities and makes a joke of them," he said.

An open letter to the director, published in Mid-Day, lamented that the film would dent decades of campaigns by gay rights activists.

"(The) film contains the worst possible misnomers about same sex attraction. More than two decades of work done by gay and lesbian activist groups will suffer thanks to this homophobic film," said the letter, written by Tejal Shah.

Sena activists, claiming homosexuality was an affront to Indian culture, disrupted shows of the film in Mumbai and the holy city of Varanasi, but gay rights campaigners made it clear they were not making common cause.

"We're not going to allow the Sena to do this to us. They didn't bother when the same director's previous film, 'Hawas' which was also all about lust and sex, was released, so why is it that this film is being targeted?" asked Row Kavi.

An analyst said Indian films lack sensitivity over issues such as homosexuality. "Subjects like lesbianism need sensitive and mature handling, for which the context should be sensible," said analyst Indu Mirani.

"Unfortunately, here there was nothing of the sort. It was just a whole heap of titillation. The message the film gave out was that a homosexual relationship is bad as compared to a heterosexual one, which is a skewed morality."

Bollywood has a long way to go before learning to tackle sensitive and risque themes with maturity, she suggested.

"Because currently writers and directors are only looking at these films as a way of being 'different' and making quick money," Mirani said.

"For a film industry that has barely moved away from the boy-meets-girl, boy-gets-girl formula, maturity is a long way off."

Police protection for Girlfriend

By IndiaFM News Bureau, June 15th, 2004 - 1430 hrs IST





In accordance with the vandalism by the Shiv Sena outside theatres screening Girlfriend, the police force is taking strong cautionary measures.

Policemen will guard theatres screening Girlfriend in Mumbai and Varanasi where the Sena created tension. Also there will be strict vigilance in other areas like New Delhi, Bhopal and Lucknow.


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Perhaps, this is the only film that doubled its collections from the opening weekend to the next day Monday onwards.

It has been upgraded from Flop to Profitable.

http://www.boxofficeindia.com/

BOX OFFICE LATEST-17th June 15.00 IST

Girlfriend emerges as a profitable venture due to its controversy.The film which opened to 35% collections is now recording 65% collections.The film has been picking up since Monday.With a low price of around 30 lakhs per major territory it should not have a problem pulling through.

CONTROVERSY CARD WELL PLAYED here!!

BJP asks Censor Board to review 'Girlfriend'
By Abid ©2004 Bollyvista.com

The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded that the Censor Board should review the controversial film 'Girlfriend' and delete scenes, which were objectionable or had pornographic contents and against the Indian culture.

Meanwhile even associations normally working for the welfare of the subject, which the film is about, have severely admonished director Karan Razdan for sensationalizing the subject for commercial gains rather than making an objective film or taking a sympathetic view.



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Not long now until they announce Girlfriend 2: Lesbos in Lucknow!

Finally some one came forward to defend Girl Friend. Not only that, they even defeated (chased away) Shiv Sena.

http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/0 ... irlfriend'

Tribal girls take on Shiv Sainiks for 'Girlfriend'

It was feminine power at full display when a bunch of Shiv Sena activists descended on a theatre here to demand a ban on the screening of "Girlfriend", objecting to its theme of lesbianism.

The screening of the film, which triggered protests in a few cities last week, continues uninterrupted here with the Shiv Sainiks deciding to call off their agitation after facing resistance from an unexpected quarter - tribal girls.

"Some protesters stormed the theatre Tuesday, the first day of the show, and asked us to withdraw the movie. They disrupted the screening for at least half an hour," said Satyam cinema hall manager Laxminarayan Guru Diwan.

"Before leaving the theatre campus, they gave us a deadline of 72 hours for the removal of the film," he added.

Diwan said some tribal girls surprisingly came out in support of screening of "Girlfriend" Friday.

"They asked us to not succumb to anyone and continue to show the movie," he said. "I decided to continue with the screening following heavy viewer turnout.

"But Saturday evening Shiv Sainiks stormed into the theatre campus and started tearing away banners and posters. Soon tribal girls also reached here and it was a virtual showdown over "Girlfriend".

"The hardliners were soon chased away by the girls. Now we are planning to extend the movie for a week."

The Satyam theatre is the lone cinema hall in Chhattisgarh screening "Girlfriend".

This is HILARIOUS. Chased away by tribal girls?? Proof of how impotent the Shiv Sena are.