Sharmilaji should support Shilpa’

The National Commission For Women backs the actress in the obscenity case, says Tagore should support her too

Ram Kamal Mukherjee

The 'obscenity' case filed against Shilpa Shetty by an advocate in Madurai took a different turn yesterday when the National Commission for Women (NCW) pledged complete support to the actress. Shilpa's spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar, who submitted a memorandum to the NCW in New Delhi on the actress's behalf, informed us that Shilpa was away in Bangkok shooting for Anil Sharma's Apne.

Shilpa, who is currently shooting in Bangkok, said she would rather talk about her film Apne than the case. "Ask me about Apne and I will talk," she laughs. The film stars Dharmendra, Bobby Deol and Sunny Deol. "I am thoroughly enjoying the shoot. It's just like an extended family. Most of the time, we're simply having fun on the sets," she says.

When probed further, Shilpa said, "The matter is subjudice and I can't talk about it. But I have faith in our judicial system."

Dr. Girija Vyas, chairperson of NCW, says, "The case has been misdirected at Shilpa Shetty. When the Censor Board has cleared her film for public viewing, from where does the question of obscenity arise? Sharmila Tagore, being the chief of the Censor Board, should also come forth in Shilpa's support. In fact, all self-respecting women of India should."

An advocate in Madurai, T.Dakshinamoorthy, filed a case against Shilpa Shetty in a magistrate court, accusing her of obscenity. He did this after one of her photographs was published in a Tamil magazine called Tamil Murasu. The photo is actually a freeze-frame shot from her superhit Kannada film Auto Shankar, which was approved by the Censor Board for universal viewing.

Bhagwagar however denies that Shilpa has received any summons. He added that the actress did not pose exclusively for that picture, but it was part of the film's promotional material and she had not granted the magazine special permission to publish it. "There has been indiscriminate misreporting in the media, and this has given this frivolous case undue importance. It has been tarnishing Shilpa Shetty's clean image. Shilpa is not only hurt over such a case being filed against her, but she also feels targetted, hassled and victimised by it. She is a responsible actress and citizen and would never participate in anything crude," Bhagwagar maintains.

But reports stated that Shilpa posed exclusively for the shoot. "Shilpa has not shot for the picture in question, nor has she given anyone permission to use such a picture, taken by pausing a sequence from the film. How can someone hold an actor responsible for something that has been passed by the Censor Board?" Bhagwagar says.

• I have faith in our judicial system – Shilpa Shetty, from Bangkok