Legal notice seeks ban on screenings of ‘Hawa’

A legal notice has been sent to ban the screening of the movie 'Hawa' for violating the Wildlife Conservation and Safety Act for the scene in which a Myna (locally known as Shalik) is shown to be captivated in a cage.

Supreme Court lawyer Khandaker Hasan Shahriar sent the legal notice to the Censor Board on Monday (August 22). It was sent to the Chairman and Vice Chairman of Bangladesh Film Censor Board. 

Legal action will be taken if no action is taken within seven days of receiving the notice, read the notice.

It also demanded to nullify the license of "Hawa" and completely ban the promotion and screening of the film in Bangladesh and outside the country. In addition, the notice said to reconstruct the censor board committee to include members of the wildlife crime prevention unit, lawyers and environmentalists as Censor Board members 

According to the notice, it is demanded to cancel the license of the movie Hawa and declare a complete ban on promotion, broadcast and exhibition in Bangladesh and outside Bangladesh. Besides, Censor Board should be reconstituted to include members of wildlife crime prevention unit, lawyers and environmentalists as Censor Board members.

The notice also said that before granting censor board clearance to any film in future, it should take special care to ensure that the film does not contain violent murder scenes, obscene language and violate any section of the Wildlife (Preservation and Security) Act, 2012.

Earlier on 17 August, Nargis Sultana, Wildlife Crime Control Unit inspector, told The Business Standard that she filed the case with the Metropolitan Session Judge Court.