Prithviraj tussle at airport

Thursday, October 05, 2006
Prithviraj had a tussle with the airport authorities when he was traveling with his son and wife at Bangalore Airport yesterday. The famed actor whose son is autistic found himself on the wrong side of the law. The officer at the airport didn't allow him to board the flight going by the outdated Aircraft Act which disallows a passenger from boarding a flight if he or she is has a mental disorder. The officer incharge at the time apparently was not well educated on autism which prompted his refusal to allow Prithivirajs son Ahen onboard plane. After the actor questioned the officer's decision for a half hour, his son was allowed to board the plane. Prithviraj, who taped the responses of the officer, contacted news channel CNN-IBN which broadcasted it under their Citizen Journalist programme.

The actor has faced equal difficulty while traveling with his son in Indian airports. The legislation governing the issue states that " a mentally challenged person should either be accompanied by a relative or a doctor depending on the state of the person". His next Tamil flick will be Arputha Theevu. A versatile actor, he has also dome movies in other languages. Avan Chaandiyude Makan, a Malayalam release which he has acted in is awaiting release.