Court asks police to book Vidya Balan for obscenity

Hyderabad: Controversies continue to dog `The Dirty Picture` with a city court directing police to book actress Vidya Balan for posing for indecent photographs on the film posters and promos. Nampally criminal courts ordered the Nallakunta police station in the city to book a criminal case against the Bollywood star. The court passed the orders on a petition filed by an advocate S. K. Azad. The judge asked police to book the actress under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and also under Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. Police was also asked to take action against public display of posters and promotional advertisements of the controversial movie. The petitioner said the posters and hoardings of the film were spoiling the minds of the people and causing harm to the society. Produced by Balaji Telefilms, starring Vidya, Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar Kapoor, the film was released all over the country Friday. There have been protests by anti-obscenity activists in parts of Hyderabad and other towns in the state during last two days. The film before its release had landed into trouble when former south Indian actress Silk Smitha`s brother V. Naga Varaprasad Rao moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court, objecting to the way her late sister was portrayed in the film. The court Dec 1 refused to stop the film`s release after the filmmaker denied that it is based on Silk Smitha`s life. IANS