Producer-director Mahesh Bhatt filed a case in the New Delhi High Court against the government’s decision, saying it curbed creativity.

“This is the worst kind of censorship,” Bhatt told AFP by telephone from London, where he is on a personal visit.

“It is a curb on creativity, especially in a free country like ours. The state is going the fascist way in today’s world.”

Bhatt said he had no intention of observing the ban in his future movies.

“I have not gone out of my way to avoid smoking scenes in films,” he said.

The court on Tuesday heard the petition filed by Bhatt’s lawyer and asked the health and information ministries to respond by September 30. The ban is slated to come into effect from October 2, the birthday of independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.

India decided in June to ban smoking on the big screen, saying it encouraged cigarette smoking among vulnerable youngsters.

The decision got a boost when Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, a smoker himself, threw his weight behind the ban.

Some of Bollywood’s heroines are also supportive. “I genuinely feel that whatever we do in films, people are influenced,” said Kareena Kapoor.

“It impacts the youth as they copy actors to a certain extent. So, I think smoking in films is wrong and should be banned.”

But other stars oppose the move.

“I feel the ban is incorrect,” said Bollywood sex symbol Bipasha Basu. “How many things are we going to ban? It is just not right.”

Actor Aamir Khan said the ban would make it difficult to create a negative character on the screen.

“Sometimes smoking reflects the personality of the character and if a ban comes into effect it will be difficult to create negativity. (It may) even restrict an actor’s creativity,” he said.