Smriti Irani effect: How Sexy Durga and Nude stirred a storm at International Film Festival
Actress-turned-politician Smriti Irani made it clear she was all business once she took over the ministry of information and broadcasting. Gone was Pahlaj Nihalani as the chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), and in came ad-man and writer Prasoon Joshi. New CBFC board members were brought in.
The vacant seat of the chairman of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) was finally filled with the appointment of Anupam Kher. The National Film Development Corporation was handed over the reins of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, and a jury of eminent film professionals was established. Things were going well, until now that is.
Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh, chairman of IFFI’s Panorama jury, resigned after the ministry sidelined the jury’s recommendation and dropped Ravi Jadhav’s Marathi film Nude and Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s S Durga from the line-up. No reasons were given to the jury for the exclusion.
Soon, writer Apurva Asrani (Shahid, Simran) and filmmaker Gyan Correa (The Good Road), two of the 13 members, followed suit and distanced themselves from IFFI. “We had a responsibility towards some very sincere films, and somewhere we have failed them,” said Asrani in a statement shared with the media. “Therefore, my conscience won’t allow me to participate in the festivities.”
Needless to say, this isn’t the best of starts for the first IFFI under Irani’s charge. That the ministry is acting as a censorship body isn’t lost on anybody. The resignations and the bad publicity that followed reflect poorly on the ministry’s handling of the festival. Sasidharan is taking his battle to the Kerala High Court. “This government is ruthlessly capturing all the spaces of artists in an autocratic way. It is supporting extreme groups in destroying artistic freedom and freedom of expression for stupid reasons,” wrote Sasidharan on Facebook.
This isn’t the first time Sasidharan has had to save his creative endeavour, which has travelled to multiple international film festivals and won awards too. To confirm its screening at the Mumbai Film Festival, he was forced to change its title from Sexy Durga to S Durga.
Popular filmmaker Jadhav is gutted, for it was his film which was recommended as the opening film. Written by Sachin Kundalkar, the film documents the fraught life of a woman working as a nude model at the JJ Institute of Applied Arts in Mumbai. “I’m sure that the people who have taken this decision haven’t even seen the film,” said Jadhav, whose credits include superhits such as Balak Palak, Natrang and Timepass. “They must have just heard the title and presumed there is something objectionable in it. There is nothing like that in it. I am not here to create controversy.”
As the filmmakers speak up, the ministry’s planning is also coming under attack. In an interview to Aaj Tak, Jadhav said that the announcement of Panaroma was left until the last minute (only ten days before the festival). The lack of dialogue has also miffed him.
But he isn’t giving up hope, believing that Irani will stand up for freedom of expression. “If she sees it, she will support it,” said Jadhav about Irani. “I’m not blaming her at all. She is a sensitive person. She wants something good and positive. I’m sure she will take a positive action.” Hopefully, the minister is listening.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)