’Lamhaa’, the Sanjay Dut-Bipasha Basu starrer, about turmoil in the Kashmir valley, has been banned in the Middle East. Sanjay posted on his Twitter page , "First the premiere of Lamhaa was not allowed in Kashmir.. Now the Middle East puts a ban on the release of the film in their countries.
There had been speculation earlier that ’Lamhaa’ would be banned in Kashmir itself. Ultimately that led to the premiere there being cancelled.The movie was also in the news because Aishwarya Rai was apparently mocked in one of the dialogues. Anupam Kher, who plays a Kashmiri separatist leader in the film, says in one scene: "When Aishwarya Rai is unable to see the moon, it makes news.
But why doesn’t the media report the plight of those thousands of Kashmiri wives who haven’t seen their husbands for years?"
Director Rahul Dholakia clarified, "The dialogue in the film by the separatist leaders uses Mrs.
Rai Bachchan as a metaphor to the Bollywood centric media who prefer covering the personal lives of icons instead of covering the real life poignant stories of Kashmiri half-widows.
The comment is not a slur or an attack on the actress in anyway."
