,story of keralaThe state secretariat has been banned in West Bengal after over a dozen intelligence inputs regarding communal clashes in the state. “After the film’s release, the government received reports from some district magistrates and superintendents of police that there were demands to ban the film. Its documents are ready with the government and they can be presented before the Supreme Court if needed.
He further said that in several theatres, in and around prominent places of the city, audience members were using communal slurs against each other. “The film is creating hatred for a particular community and increasing tension,” he said.
,story of keralaBased on ‘radicalisation of women in Kerala’, directed by Sudipto Sen, and was released on 5 May.
West Bengal, which is often seen on the sidelines for political conflicts, has witnessed a series of censorship in the past, from colonial times to post-independence.
The state has seen a series of communal tensions over the past four to five years, with the latest one occurring during Ram Navami celebrations. The state is often seen at the receiving end of its history of partition, with seven districts having an international border with Bangladesh.
News18 spoke to several experts, senior officials of the state administration, police and other law enforcement agencies to understand the current censorship imposed on ‘The Kerala Story’ and the reasons, background and history behind it.
playing in the gallery
Nationally acclaimed director Anik Dutta told News18 political parties, “who are ruling the state, and who are at the Center are playing to the gallery”.
“The content of the film seems to be a tool of polarization as I have read and heard something about it. I have no intention or desire to watch the film. But seeing the politics that is being done regarding films, I can say that nowadays political parties are only playing the game of show off. They are also polarizing people to please and appease their respective vote banks. For Bengal, it is about the so-called minority vote bank, which forms the majority vote share of the ruling party here,” said Dutta, whose film ‘the past‘ (Future Ghost), reportedly a political satire, was pulled out of theaters 24 hours after its release in February, 2019.
The government did not explain why it was taken off the screen, and Dutta sought legal intervention.
“I never support censorship. If a film is bad or ugly or propaganda then the public should reject it. Only CBFC can censor a film, states cannot. Guess political tension, then it is their job to handle it. I cannot lock my doors and windows fearing that a thief will enter my house. We have law enforcement agencies for that,” he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has banned the film in the state, has criticized the central government’s decision to remove a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi from all platforms in India, calling it “communal propaganda”.
In February the Center invoked emergency power on Modi to ban the series on all platforms, calling it “a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discrediting narrative”.
The issue of censorship takes on a particularly sensitive and contentious nature when a state like West Bengal, which celebrates and prides itself on its liberal cultural ethos, bans a film. But history has a different story to tell.
Questions raised on the timing of the release
Kaushik Sen, an actor, director and playwright questioned the timing of the film. “I have protested, demonstrated against all kinds of restrictions. In Bengal, many books, theaters were banned, films were censored by the parties in power. I have never supported such a ban. But this time I agree with the decision of the Chief Minister. The Kerala Story is not a film, not a work of art but a piece of propaganda. This has been done to polarize people and create communal disharmony. View at the time of release. It has been issued before state elections and panchayat elections in a very politically sensitive state like Bengal. The film is bound to have political and communal ramifications.”
“People like us watch movies in expensive theatres, return and write long posts on social media and sometimes even mobilize people. But when riots break out in the hinterland, remote villages and houses are set on fire, people like us sit in our homes and watch on TV. We cannot protect those innocent victims. So, I think the state has taken a pre-emptive action,” he said.
history of censorship
For decades, West Bengal has witnessed censorship of books, publications, theaters and films. The idea of censorship was first introduced through the Vernacular Press Act. It was proposed in 1878 by Lord Lytton, the then Viceroy of India, and the purpose of the act was to prevent the local press from expressing criticism of the British rulers. Over time, many Bengali and English dailies of Bengal origin were censored using this act.
Author Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novelPather Dabi‘ was also censored by the British after which he requested Rabindranath Tagore to petition against the ban. The tradition of banning continued in independent India, with the Congress-led government in the state banning several theatres, mostly those by noted actor-director Utpal Dutta, said a senior historian, who did not wish to be quoted.
The first film to be banned in independent India wasNeel Akasher Nike‘ (Under the Blue Sky) by Mrinal Sen. It was banned in 1959 for its ‘political overtones’.
Towards the end of the Left Front’s rule in Bengal, the state government banned Taslima Nasreen’s book.dichroic‘ (split) in 2005. He was forced to leave the state in 2007 for his controversial writings following a communal riot in the city.
In 2013, the Bengal government did not allow British author Salman Rushdie to visit Kolkata to promote the film adaptation of his novel.midnight children,