Mayawati bans 'Aaja Nachle' for 'derogatory' song

Lucknow, Nov 30 (IANS) In a late Friday night development, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati banned the screening of Bollywood's much-awaited film - 'Aaja Nachle' - in the state over an alleged derogatory insinuation to Dalits in a song.

The film, which marks the return of Bollywood queen Madhuri Dixit, was released Friday and expected to be a hit at the box office.

Mayawati also shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to ban the movie across the country.

The chief minister has taken strong exception to a particular line in a song, which, according to her, was derogatory to a section of Dalits.

Principal secretary to the chief minister Shailesh Krishna told IANS: 'A song in the movie contained certain derogatory insinuations against a particular Dalit community, which was also in violation of the spirit of the Indian Constitution.'

Confirming enforcement of the government order, Lucknow District Magistrate Chandra Bhanu said: 'We have already ensured that the screening of the film is stopped with immediate effect.'

According to him, 'All current shows of the film in different movie halls have been stopped.'