Panaji: National award winning Bollywood filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar on Thursday said he was disillusioned by the silence of the intelligentsia in the country over the protest against his recent film, Indu Sarkar.
He was reacting to a question on the series of protests against the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversy-stricken film 'Padmavati'.
"I was disillusioned because I did not get any support from anyone, or from any intellectual. I thought those people who speak of freedom of expression will come and support. There was no support from that side. There was no support from the film side. I was alone fighting the battle with my team from the high court to Supreme Court to the censor board to the state everywhere. There was a lot of difficulty and this has been happening for some time now,” he said. He also listed out the films that had to face opposition from various corners under various governments.
"It (protest against films) is not a new thing, we have seen over many years that problems crop up. We are a diverse country. Someone or the other will come and say we have a problem over this, I know you are talking about Padmavati. I have 100 per cent supported the film. I would wish the film releases. But at the same time I asked when there was a furore over my film for a month and a half, everywhere people opposed it, by political parties. I was sad that there should not be disparity of this kind," Bhandarkar told reporters on the sidelines of the 48th International Film Festival of India in Panaji.
He said the selective outrage attitude of people over films was wrong.
The filmmaker said that making a film based on history or politics was a “big problem” irrespective of the administration in power and that the best way to get around the issue was to fashion the film as fiction.
The director made it clear that the censor board should be the final authority over the release of films and there should not be scope for any individual or organization to take up that role.
"I have always said that censor is supreme. Once censor sees a film and they decide. I say now also that if Sanjay Leela calls Karni Sena or Rajputs to see the film, it is his prerogative. And if he feels, that after showing them the film they are satisfied and their sentiments are not hurt and they are ok with it, issue is over…," he said.
Indu Sarkar, set during the emergency, courted a controversy after Congress supporters alleged that it portrayed former prime minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi in bad light.
Priya Singh Paul, who claims to be Sanjay’s daughter, approached the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on the film. However, the Bombay High Court rejected the plea after Paul failed to present solid evidence of her association with the lineage of Sanjay Gandhi. The Supreme Court also refused to stay the release of the film.
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