Censor Board of Film Certification junks film on battle for Banaras

PUNE: National Award-winning filmmaker Kamal Swaroop's documentary film 'The Battle for Banaras' is the latest to face the ire of the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
In the two-hour film, inspired by Nobel laureate Elias Canetti's book 'Crowds and Power', Swaroop has documented the electoral battle of various political parties in Varanasi during the parliamentary elections last year.
The film was denied a censor certificate from both the exam and the review committee on Thursday. "The film is harmless and is not anti-government. When the CBFC did not approve the film, I asked if any cuts were required. We were told that no cuts can justify such a film and the film was rejected, which is worrisome. When I asked for the reason, I was told the film is 'not ok' and there is 'some mischief' in it," said Swaroop, who is based out of Mumbai and an alumnus of FTII. He is also a visiting faculty at the institute, which he passed out of in 1974.
He now plans to approach the revising committee and the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal.
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Swaroop said his crew shot for 44 days in April 2014 in Varanasi and followed all the 40 candidates in the fray from Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. "In the end, it was a face-off between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal. The film is a celebration of the Indian democracy and did not deal with any single ideology," he said.
The film, which has been shot on 4K format, has already been selected to premiere at the Montreal Film Festival.
Swaroop had won the National Award for his documentary film Rangbhoomi, based on Dadasaheb Phalke's life. He had also assisted filmmaker Richard Attenborough for Gandhi in 1982. He worked with the Indian Space Research Organisation for a brief period as an experimental teacher.
Swaroop said a CBFC certificate would have helped the film get a theatrical release or even get a place in the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India in Goa this year. "Now, we will miss the deadline. They should have at least explained the reason for not giving us the certificate," he added.
A CBFC board member said the decision to not give a certificate to The Battle for Banaras is not justified as the film's content does not oppose any ideology.
"Going to the CBFC has only become a formality. Filmmakers should approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal directly as freedom of expression is not respected in the CBFC. It's a mere puppet in the hands of the government and the ministry of information and broadcasting," the board member said.
CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani said he has "not received the file as of now".
"I have not seen the film and it's the committee's decision alone to not give a certificate. The filmmaker is hungry for publicity and there was no reason for him to speak to the media about it. He can approach the tribunal. It is his problem. Our panel members are busy watching 14 films a day as there is a deadline of August 31 when all the films for the festival circuit need to be cleared," he said.