As they received awards for their films from President Pratibha Patil at the National Films Awards function over the weekend, three documentary filmmakers also handed across a petition to Patil.
The three filmmakers, Rakesh Sharma, Gaurav Jani and Praveen Kumar were protesting the “growing harassment” of documentary filmmakers by the police and the Central Board for Film Certification.
Sharma, recipient of the Special Jury award for his internationally acclaimed film Final Solution said they were forced to take the unprecedented step as the government had failed to address their concerns.
The censor board had declined to clear the film on Gujarat riots in 2004 on the ground that it may arouse communal feelings. “It is ironic that the President of India is recognising the technical and artistic merit of my film Final Solution by giving it an award while the government’s own censor Board saw it fit to ‘ban’ the film,” Sharma said, urging Patil to turn her attention to antiquated censor laws and order a thorough review.
The petition also complained about police trying to stop screenings of their films though narrative feature filmmakers routinely organize "trial" shows before even applying for a censor certificate and was recognised as an industry practice by the authorities concerned.
{{/usCountry}}The petition also complained about police trying to stop screenings of their films though narrative feature filmmakers routinely organize "trial" shows before even applying for a censor certificate and was recognised as an industry practice by the authorities concerned.
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