Sachin’s ‘Save water’ ad gets Censor nod

First, it was BMC’s Standing Committee shouting down the short film on water conservation, where Sachin Tendulkar exhorted people to use buckets for bathing as shower baths wasted water. Now, the Censor Board has objected to a scene in this same public service ad film, where the Master Blaster is sitting while the national anthem plays in the background. While BMC is retaining the scenes on not having shower baths, they have made the filmmaker change Jana gana mana to Saare jahan se achcha as the background score. Now, the 30-second commercial made by Eureka Films and directed by Meghnath Kulkarni is to be released today for screening on TV and in multiplexes. In a bid to make Mumbaikars save water, the film appeals to use water judiciously in these times of water shortage as part of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s ‘Save Water Campaign’. Tendulkar dressed in cricket gear, takes a break after his double century to give the social message. An official from BMC says, “The Censor Board wanted BMC to approach another censor committee for clearance. That would have meant a wait of 15 days. Since we were already late, we took a call to remove the national anthem and use Saare jahan se achcha instead. Now, it has been approved by the Censor Board.” Anil Diggikar, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Dwarkanath Sanzgiri, Official on Special Duty (Water project), and Suprabha Marathe, Chief of BMC’s Rainwater Harvesting Cell have initiated the ‘Save Water Campaign’. Sanzgiri said, “In the ad, Tendulkar talks about saving water in both Hindi and Marathi. The message in Marathi is, ‘Paani wachwa, Mumbai wachwa’, while in Hindi the message says, ‘Paani ki raksha, Mumbai ki suraksha’. We are also holding Jal Mela’s in each civic ward to make people aware about water saving methods. We hope cricket icons such as Tendulkar appealing people to save water film will encourage people to do so.”