J P Dutta portrayed Lucknow in bad light: Shia cleric

Lucknow, Nov 1 (UNI) Prominent Shia cleric Maulana Yasoob Abbas today said eminent filmmaker J P Dutta had portrayed the culture and heritage of Lucknow in bad light in his magnum opus 'Umrao Jaan' to be released on november 3.

''J P Dutta has made light of the rich culture and heritage of Lucknow, while the 'City of Nawabs' is dotted with a large number of Imambaras and mosques,'' Maulana Abbas said here.

The Shia National Front (SNF) general secretary maintained that mosques and Imambaras are centres of faith, where people offer prayers.

''Any permission to shoot films at these places is untenable...if song-dance sequences are canned at places of worship, it would certainly hurt its sanctity and purity, and this would be rather unfortunate,'' he told UNI this evening.

Maulana Abbas also refuted a news item published in a Mumbai English daily, which attributed his earlier statement on the issue to the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB).

The Shia cleric clarified that on being asked by the daily's correspondent, he had issued the statement on behalf of the SNF rpt SNF and AISPLB had nothing to do with his views.

UNI VS SHB BST2003