Controversial films that were banned for political reasons
Many films and documentaries have been banned in India due to the nature of their material, which ranges from political, religious, and sexual taboos. So many films have never been released or have been prohibited for a period of time, only to be released later with an A certificate or many edits enforced by the Censor Board. Here’s a short look at some of these practically forgotten films that were prohibited for political reasons and received a disapproving nod from the Censor Board.
‘Inshallah Kashmir,’
The National Award-winning film served as a wake-up call, telling us about a real-life situation in Kashmir. The 2012 documentary tells the experience of ex-militants and describes the torture they through after being seized by the army. When this film was refused a theatrical distribution, Ashwin Kumar, the director, producer, and writer, decided to make it available online.
The film ‘India’s Daughter’
The BBC documentary was banned by the Indian government in 2015 owing to its contentious content. The documentary is based on the 2012 gang rape case in Nirbhaya, Delhi. Even before its publication, it sparked outrage when one of the documentary’s interviews featured one of the convicted rapists excusing the horrible act, which was shown on a television channel. Nonetheless, India’s Daughter was eventually made available to viewers online.
‘Paanch’
Language is a barrier, and it was this barrier that prevented Anurag Kashyap’s Paanch from being released. This film was prohibited because of its use of violent language, glorification of war and killing, sex and drug usage. It is stated that this film conveyed nothing but negativity, thus it was created outside the reach of the general audience.
Hava aney de
Partho Sen Gupta’s film ‘Hava Aney Dey,’ also known as Let The Wind Blow, is set in Bombay and depicts the city accurately. It illustrates the situation of the Indian people during the new capitalist system. As Pakistan is at war, this film portrays the narrative of two brothers battling for Kashmir. It wasn’t all that contentious, but the Censor Board advised several edits that shortened the film’s duration to roughly 20 minutes. As a result of the director’s refusal to embrace these ideas, the film was never released.
Firaaq
In Gujarat, Nandita Das’ managerial debut Firaaq was banned in 2008. Firaaq, grounded on thepost-Godhra screams, won several transnational prizes and entered critical praise at film carnivals throughout the world. nonetheless, none of the multiplexes in the area displayed the picture, citing distributors’ demands for fresh plutocrat as the cause. Although Das supposedly denied any similar thing, the film was noway released in Gujarat. Firaaq was viewed as controversial owing to its content, despite having a strong star cast that featured Naseruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Raghuveer Yadav, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Suri, Shahana Goswami, and Tisca Chopra.
Parzania’
The 2005 film, directed by Rahul Dholakia, stars Sarika and Naseeruddin Shah, among others, and was based on the actual tale of a Parsi kid named Azhar Mody. Azhar vanished following the Gulbarg Society slaughter on February 28, 2002, amid Gujarat’s sectarian violence. The film follows the Pithawala family as they search for their missing kid. Several people believe that filmmaker Rahul was motivated by a personal tragedy that occurred during the Gujarat riots, and hence this film was influenced by that. The Bajrang Dal, however, banned Parzania in Gujarat and apparently told theatre owners not to broadcast it. There was not a single theatre ready to show the film.
