Kerala HC directs IFFI to screen S Durga
text_fields
The Kerala High Court has directed the organizers of International Film Festival of India to include and exhibit the film ‘S Durga’, directed by Sanal Kumar Sashidharan in the Indian Panorama section of the Festival.
Justice K. Vinod Chandran, the learned Single Judge who considered the matter, overruled the objections raised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and held that the CBFC certified version of the film was entitled to be screened.
The film was selected by the Panorama Jury; however, the Ministry vetoed the decision of jury and dropped the film from the 'Indian Panorama' section of IFFI. Sasidharan moved court when he learnt the Ministry had excluded the film. Three jury members chairperson Sujoy Ghosh, director Gyan Correa, and writer Apurva Asrani, resigned from the jury to register protest.
The Ministry tried to defend its position by stating that the original title of the movie Sexy Durga would hurt religious sentiments. It's other contention was that the makers submitted an 'uncensored' version of the film.
The court quashed these points, observing that there wasn't a significant difference between the censored and the uncensored versions. Furthermore, it noted that the Ministry had no powers to overrule the decision made by the jury.
The decision could probably bolster the chances of Ravi Jadhav's Nude, another film the Ministry dropped from the Indian Panorama section.
According to Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, the movie had nothing to do with Goddess Durga or any religious icons, and the film was addressing misogyny in society by highlighting the paradoxical patriarchal tendency to deify and objectify women at the same time.
Sasidharan, who is in Australia, where a film of his is being screened, said in a Facebook post, "I usually don't celebrate victories. But this I cant stay away. This is the victory of cinema. This is the victory of our democracy. This is the victory of those people from jury who sacrificed. Cheers India!"
IFFI was inaugurated in Goa yesterday, and will go on till 28th November.