Ahmedabad: Aamir Khan says he has not shot a chinkara. But because he will not come to Bhuj to say this, the actor could end up in court. Forest officials in Kutch have asked the Gandhinagar head office for permission to file a criminal case against the actor-producer for allegedly filming the endangered deer in Lagaan.

The department had asked Aamir to come to Bhuj to explain a scene in which Bhuvan (played by the actor) saves a deer from being shot, deputy forest conservator (Kutch) V.T. Korwadia said.A year and eight notices later, he sent a written reply last month saying no chinkara was filmed in Kutch and that the scene was created using special effects. Aamir also invited the forest officials to Mumbai to see the trick scene.The creative director of a special effects firm that was hired by the Lagaan team has seconded his claim, department sources said.

But angry that the actor has not come to Bhuj and denied permission by the department to travel to Mumbai, the officials now want to go to court. The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, under which the notices were sent, bans teasing and even chasing of chinkaras. If found guilty, Aamir faces three years in prison.

R.L. Meena, the conservator of forests (Kutch), said five persons were summoned. While two appeared, director Ashutosh Gowarikar said he was busy and Aamir’s ex-wife and Lagaan’s executive producer Reena Datta has been excused because she is a single mother.

That leaves main accused Aamir facing the heat of the department that woke up to the alleged violation six years after Lagaan’s release in 2000.

Courtesy:Calcutta Telegraph - Calcutta,India