Censorship – Arts

In an interview to the Times of India, director Ujjwal Chatterjee, who was on the panel that selected films for screening at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), has said that six or seven films were rejected because they were deemed to be “anti-national”.

The IFFI will be held in Goa between November 20 and 28 this year. The festival moved to Goa in 2004. “There were 45 entries in Malayalam. Most were related to the Naxalite movement. Some films were outright rejected because they were anti-national!” Chatterjee was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

“What do you mean by anti-national?” the interviewer asks. “We have no problems with criticism but no film should hurt the sentiments of a certain section of people,” Chatterjee responded. “Even if a film has to give importance to a personal view, things have to be seen from the national perspective. One can’t express anti-India sentiments, derogatory words against the country or even encourage an attack against a particular religion. There were at least six-seven films that wrongly represented India. They were not considered because they reflected anti-national sentiments.”