Wonder why Bombay is trending on Twitter?
Shockingly, the central board of film certification has ordered the name of the city edited from a song by Mumbai-based musician Mihir Joshi before clearing it for release on television.
In 1995, Bombay was re-named Mumbai after a campaign by Shiv Sena which was in power in Maharashtra then in a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Joshi released his first album -- 'Mumbai Blues' -- last May. Around a month earlier, his record label approached the censor board to seek clearance to air the songs on TV. The video kept getting delayed and finally it was given a censor certificate in December but only after the word 'Bombay' was beeped out.
The singer, who also hosts a television show, expressed his disappointment on Twitter, saying he was “amazed that the board censored the word Bombay”.
“For me...the song...the message of the song is MUCH bigger than one word. So I said...do whatever it takes...just get it on TV soon,” he tweeted. “Why did "Bombay" bother the censor board so much? Why so much that they had to have it taken out? How is #Bombay that wrong? Can someone explain it to me? Who is it offending?”
“I love Mumbai and loved Bombay. My song was about injustice to women. NOT this "controversy". I mean no offence to anyone,” he added on Sunday night.
The song, titled ‘Sorry’, is an apology from a father to his daughter for the world that he is giving her. It refers to the gang rape of a Delhi student in a moving bus in 2010.
Outrage and support for Joshi poured out on Twitter. Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha tweeted, “Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan! Is it true that the Censor Board has a problem with "#Bombay"? Wow!!! Seriously? If so, they are insane.”
@bwoyblunder said on Twitter, “Major Movie called "BOMBAY velvet" has no issues as of now and some song is allegedly having censor troubles because of "Bombay" LMAO.”
Amit Walinjkar tweets, “#Bombay is an integral part of a true #Mumbaikar as his love for this city is. @mihirjoshimusic, if the beeping story is true it's a shame.”
Pahlaj Nihalani, who took over as censor board chief last month after Leela Samson quit, told NDTV that the decision was taken by his predecessor, who was appointed by the previous Congress-led government.
Image: Mumbai-based musician Mihir Joshi. Photograph: @mihirjoshimusic/Twitter
- Also read: The Leela Samson interview
