'Rockstar' Team Asked to Remove Tibetan Flag and Slogan

Director Imtiaz Ali's upcoming film, "Rockstar," scheduled to release this Friday, is in trouble with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

The song "Saada Haq," which has already topped the charts, depicts a Tibetan flag wavering and a slogan "Free Tibet" written on a red banner. It caught the Censor Board's attention and, subsequently, the filmmaker was ordered to blur the flag and the "Free Tibet" slogan, before the film hit the silver screen.

However, the Tibetan flag is clearly visible in the TV promo and the YouTube video. In the song video, one can see the Tibetan flag waving around 10 times in the 2.5-minute duration.

Meanwhile, the director of the film, Imtiaz Ali, who was on a trip abroad, says, "I am not concerned at all, and I don't see anything controversial in our intention to portray a Tibetan flag and the slogan in the movie."

Speaking about the purpose of depicting the particular sequences in the film the director told to reporters, "is not to make any social message, its more about personal freedom rather than a geographical issue."

On this issue, Students for Free Tibet (SFT) staged a protest against the Censor Board on Monday.

"Rockstar" dares to highlight the Tibet issue. Some of the film critics opined that blurring the scene could be seen as a curb on the freedom of expression.

The song sequence was shot at the Tibetan Norbulingka monastery in McLeod Ganj, a town in the foothills of the Himalayas that is home to the Tibet government in exile in India.

Earlier, CBFC directed the producer, Eros International Media and Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision, to mute the word "b*****d" in the film. The producer complied in order to secure a "UA" certificate instead of "A" certificate.

The film features Ranbir Kapoor and debutant Nargis Fakhri in the lead roles. The controversial song "Saada Haq" is sung by Mohit Chauhan and directed by A. R Rahman.

Check some screenshots of the song depicting the Tibetan flag and the slogan.