File photo of filmmaker Ashok Pandit. , Photo Credit: PTI
Filmmaker Ashok Pandit condemned on 9 May restriction of story of kerala west bengal government film and termed it as a “big attack” on freedom of expression.
This comes a day after the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal banned the film story of keralaCiting the need to “maintain peace” and avoid incidents of “hatred and violence” in the state.
Reacting sharply to the ban on the film, Mr Pandit, who is also the president of the Film and Television Directors’ Association of India, said ANI“I condemn the banning of the film story of kerala This is a big attack on the freedom of expression of a filmmaker by the West Bengal government. This is sending a wrong message across the country.”
West Bengal became the first state to ban the film, which depicts the ordeal of three women trafficked to ISIS camps after allegedly converting to Islam through marriage.
there is political outrage continues Around the film even though it is tax free in BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh and now Uttar Pradesh has become the second state to make moves.
On the decision to ban the film, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “This is to avoid any incidents of hatred and violence and to maintain peace in the state.”
picking up as well k files, A film on the alleged genocide of Kashmiri Pandits opened to a packed house despite protests from the opposition, the Bengal CM said, “What was The Kashmir Files, It was purely meant to humiliate a particular section of the society. What is story of kerala, This is a distorted story.”
The chief minister directed the chief secretary of the state to withdraw the film from all cinema halls where it was being screened.
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Reacting to the ban, the film’s producer Vipul Amritlal Shah said that he would pursue a legal option against the decision. “If the state government does not listen to us, we will explore legal avenues. However, whatever path we take will be based on legal advice,” Mr Shah told ANI on Monday.
Directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amritlal Shah, the film influenced Violent opposition from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi VijayanWho called it “RSS propaganda”.
Congress MP from Kerala Shashi Tharoor accused the makers of “misrepresenting” Kerala.
I am campaigning for BJP Constituency KarnatakaPrime Minister Narendra Modi also stoked the controversy, accusing the Congress of standing with terrorists.
After the film’s trailer claimed that 32,000 women from Kerala had gone missing and joined the terrorist group ISIS, a major controversy arose around the film. However, following protests, the controversial image in the trailer was later withdrawn.