Mumbai's
med
community
to
rap
ciggie-toting
Aishwarya
Bachchan
on
the
knuckles
metaphorically
by
sporting
black
badges
on
the
day
of
Guzaarish's
release
The
Aishwarya
Bachchan
and
Hrithik
Roshan
starrer,
Guzaarish,
is
sailing
in
troubled
waters
even
before
its
release.
The
medical
community
is
up
in
arms
against
posters
of
the
film
showing
the
lead
actress
holding
a
cigarette.
Doctors
think
it
is
sending
a
wrong
message
to
the
youth
on
smoking.
Apart
from
the
movie
producers,
medicos
are
upset
with
BEST,
which
is
a
government
entity,
for
allowing
such
posters
to
be
displayed
on
their
vehicles.
"We
are
going
to
write
a
letter
to
BEST
and
request
the
filmmakers
to
remove
these
posters
immediately.
Aishwarya
Bachchan
is
a
renowned
actress
and
seeing
her
holding
a
cigarette
may
influence
many
young
minds," said
oncologist,
Dr
Pankaj
Chaturvedi
from
the
Tata
Memorial
Hospital.
As
a
mark
of
protest,
Doctors
for
You
(DFY),
a
not-for-profit
organisation,
has
decided
to
wear
black
badges
on
Guzaarish's
release
date,
which
is
scheduled
for
November
19.
It
was
in
2005
that
on-screen
smoking
was
banned
by
then
Union
Minister
for
Health,
Dr
Anbumani
Ramadoss,
but
the
ban
was
revoked
in
2009.
Dr
PC
Gupta
from
the
Healis
Sekhasaria
Institute
of
Public
Health,
said,
"This
is
a
clear-cut
promotion
of
smoking
and
we
will
send
a
letter
to
Aishwarya
requesting
her
not
to
use
this
particular
scene
for
promotion."
Not
long
ago
Aishwarya's
father-in-law,
Amitabh
Bachchan,
found
himself
in
advertising
trouble
after
the
NGO,
National
Organisation
for
Tobacco
Eradication
(NOTE),
filed
a
case
against
him
for
allegedly
smoking
a
cigar
in
an
advertisement.
Even
after
repeated
calls
and
text
messages
to
producer
Ronnie
Screwvala,
he
was
unavailable
for
comment.
Story first published: Monday, November 15, 2010, 9:33 [IST]