Cut suicide scenes from Indian films in Malaysia: minister

South Asia News

Cut suicide scenes from Indian films in Malaysia: minister

Kuala Lumpur, July 6 (IANS) Malaysia's Deputy Minister for Women, Family and Community development G. Palanivel has urged the country's Censorship Board to cut out suicide scenes from Indian films.

The minister's call came after an Indian origin woman and her two daughters committed suicide Tuesday.

M. Sangitta, 30, took her two daughters - Anthonyama, six, and Esther, three - and son, Jason Kalidas, to a railway track near Seremban, capital of the country's Negri Sambilan state, to commit suicide.

While the woman and her two daughters were killed after being run over by a fast moving train, five-year-old Jason escaped with injuries after being flung off the track.

According to reports, Sangitta had been having heated arguments with her husband and the situation had worsened after he lost his job recently. On the fateful day, the mother took her children to the railway tracks 200 metres away from their home.

Jason, who suffered lacerations and bruises to his arms and legs, was later admitted to the Universiti Kebangsaan Hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

The minister, who visited the boy in the hospital's paediatric ward Wednesday, said that censorship of such suicide scenes in Indian films was needed to avoid reel scenes turning into real scenes.

'Nothing good can come out of this. We must stop showing movies where people walk to railway tracks to commit suicide,' a report in the New Straits Times newspaper quoted Palanivel as saying.

Palanivel said the Censorship Board must ensure that these scenes are not aired.

'Such movies may influence people with suicidal tendencies to follow suit. Many Tamil movies have been known to project suicides on railway tracks,' he told the Bernama news agency at the hospital.

Palanivel, who is also the deputy president of the premier Malaysian Indian political party, the Malaysian India Congress, has also appealed to Hindu organisations to create awareness among the people not to commit suicide.

Hindi and Tamil films are a rage in Malaysia where ethnic Indians comprise seven percent of the country's population of over 24 million. Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla are household names in this Southeast Asian nation.

The prestigious International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards event was also held here in 2002.

'Indian film directors should be more responsible and focus on positive scenes,' a report in the Malaysia Star newspaper quoted Palanivel as saying.

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Cut suicide scenes from Indian films in Malaysia: minister