IAF clears Rang De Basanti movie without cuts

Aamir Khan movie fictionalises a MiG-21 crash and its impact

BY A CORRESPONDENT
12th January 2006

Rang De Basanti, the Aamir Khan-starring movie due for release this month has emerged from an air pocket, after the Indian Air Force cleared its release.

Rang De Basanti had run into controversy, since the movie depicts unsavoury deals in the defence and the country's air force. The country's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had cleared the movie with a U/A certificate, but had referred it to the defence ministry for a final look.

A report in DNA newspaper said that the IAF had asked for cutting scenes. However, Air Marshal P S Ahluwalia, director general (Inspection and Flight Safety), denied it: “We have no objection to any part of the film. We have left it as it is.”

In Rang De Basanti, an Indian Air Force officer is killed when the MiG-21 he flies crashes. For long, MiG-21s has acquired the dubious reputation of being "flying coffins", since many of them have crashed in the last decade, killing the pilots. There has been an uproar against the IAF still keeping the age-old plane in its fleet, and the government has always argued in its favour. During the rule of the last NDA regime, defence minister George Fernandez had even hopped on to fly a MiG, to prove that all was fine with the plane.

However, Rang De Basanti was apparently not liked in military quarters, which portray the defence ministry and poliicians in a poor light. On Tuesday, January 10, the movie was screened for high-level officials in Delhi, including the Union defence minister, defence secretary, and the chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force. An army official later said that there was nothing objectionable about the movie.

Meanwhile, Kavita Gadgil, mother of a MiG-21 pilot killed in an air crash told the media that she should have been consulted about the film. Gadgil has campaigned against the MiG fleet after her son died in the crash.

Rang De Basanti is directed by Rakeysh Mehra and casts Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Madhavan and Alice Patten in lead roles. The film is due for release this month.