Rangoon: There’s lawlessness in India, says Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bhardwaj, whose film Rangoon is set to release this Friday, says that one needs to think twice before saying anything these days.

Acclaimed filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj feels that one can get away with anything in India, and says “there is no respect for law and no law enforcement” in the country.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s Rangoon is set to hit theatres this Friday.

Asked about the law situation in the country, Bhardwaj said on a news channel, “There’s lawlessness in this country, you can get away with anything. There’s no respect for law, you can get away with anything, there’s no law enforcement. Till the time there’s no fear of the law, then nothing can happen.”

Bhardwaj has time and again picked a rustic lingo to add power to his cinema. In an IANS interview in the past, the National Award-winning filmmaker had reacted strongly to diktats on film content by the Central Board of Film Certification. He had said that the censor board behaves “like the Taliban” and that the body should be “chopped off”.

Now he says that filmmakers need to be protected by the Information and Broadcasting ministry.

On being asked if he could have released the movie Haider today, he said, “No, no way... these are the times that we think twice before saying anything and even saying this we think twice.”

For now, the multi-talented Bhardwaj -- a writer, singer, composer, director and producer -- is excited for his forthcoming directorial Rangoon. The period drama is set in the 1940s amidst the turmoil of India’s independence struggle, and includes some historic references.

The film, starring Kangana Ranaut, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor, is releasing on Friday.