Television viewers were in for a huge disappointment on Sunday afternoon as Sony TV decided not to telecast The Dirty Picture following a directive from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which said a UA certified film could be shown on the small screen only late in the night.

The film, originally rated A, went through 59 audio and visual cuts in February this year to get a UA certificate, in order to be screened on television.

The controversial film, starring Vidya Balan, was scheduled to be aired at noon and 8 pm today on a private channel. But the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asked for the telecast timing to be revised to a slot after 11 pm.

There was no word from Sony TV on the entire episode. The channel merely ran a scroll: “For unavoidable reasons we regret to inform that the film The Dirty Picture will not be telecast today. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.”