MUMBAI, August 13: Just about a couple of days before its premier, Pamela Rooks' Train to Pakistan seems to have come to a screeching halt. Based on Khushwant Singh's novel of the same name, the film was slotted for telecast on Star TV on August 15 at 9.30 pm, till it ran into trouble with the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC).

Train to Pakistan talks about the lives of people in Pind, a village in Punjab, where Muslims and Sikhs live together peacefully, so much so, that when the separate nation is formed there is no question of anybody moving out. However, tension in the neighbouring villages spills over, till people are faced with a single choice -- either to get killed or move westward. The protagonist of the film is Jagga, a good-at-heart Sikh dacoit who prevents the massacre of a train full of Muslims at the cost of his life.

While there are no scenes here to provoke communal unrest, the CBFC, according to R V Pandit, co-producer with NFDC and Rooks' AV Productions, is sticking to government guidelines by demanding that the word `Musalman' and all indirect references to Mahatma Gandhi be deleted.

Says Khushwant Singh, "Musalman is a very commonly used word in Hindustani. People say, `Main Musalman Hoon' all the time. It's very silly to object to that." CBFC has also objected to the expletives used in the film, said to be similar to those in Bandit Queen, and a scene on police torture.

While the latter is not inordinately gory, it does show a nude backside.

Says Pandit, "The police torture is shown as it actually happens, and as for the language, all those who have been to north India or lived there say that it is true to reality. This is how the Sikh drivers and other villagers speak. We have not made a generalisation. There is a Sikh priest and a mullah who are in complete contrast to Jagga's character and their language is very sweet."

The producers have appealed to the tribunal and the big screen release has been postponed till a decision is taken. Meanwhile, everyone is waiting for Star TV's and BBC's Channel 4 decision, which do not require the CBFC's certificate to telecast a film.

Insiders say that Star TV might adhere to the CBFC's version to remain in the good books of the Indian government, where as Channel 4 will probably go ahead with the original version which, according to Singh, is better than his book. The matter has gone to Star TV's head office in Honk Kong now and the producers are in a tizzy with their launch plans derailed for the time being.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.