From Aandhi to The Kerala Story: Do you think the ban culture is good?

The ban culture and the jail culture have always existed in India. The British did it and so did the post-independence rulers. The first prime minister of India did it and the rest of the family, which ruled the country, followed suit.

Things have changed and the politicians don't muddy their hands by directly giving calls to ban a book or a film. Why do they need to do that? There are so many ambitious, albeit undeserving, folks wanting to grab the limelight, earn fame by creating a nuisance value with the ultimate aim to create a following and a career in politics.

The politicians' hobby of jailing even the biggest of names never aroused any anger or reactions from people. They hardly came to know about the arrests. Say, in the case of Majrooh Sultanpuri, who was jailed for a year because of his comments against the PM of that time. The PM had no patience for criticism and not only went on a banning spree, but also brought in the first amendment to the Constitution, limiting the freedom of speech and expression.

In the mid-1970s, when the Emergency was in force, the film 'Aandhi' was banned because the prime minister at that time thought the film aimed to show her in a bad light! Amrit Nahata's film, 'Kissa Kursi Kaa', was not only banned, even its negatives were consigned to fire! Nahata was a two-term Congress Member of Parliament, but that did not help him or his film. The film was remade. A very poorly made political satire, it bombed badly at the box office.

'Aandhi', when released, turned out to be the story of a woman driven by her ambitious politician father to make a career in politics at the cost of her marriage. The film did well, thanks to powerful performances by Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen, and the musical score that reverberates even today.

The ban culture has spread and been assumed by various community, religious or other groups. Maybe, those in power have outsourced the job. It created a vote bank. Take for example the 1982 film 'Ramnagari' by the National Award winner Kantilal Rathod. The term barber, also known as 'hajam' in the vernacular, was used in the film. Objections were raised and the film could be released after the makers had to deal with various forces.

The story repeated itself when a certain community took exception to the title of Shah Rukh Khan's film, 'Billoo Barber' (2009). The barber should not be called either a 'hajam' or a 'barber' was the contention! How does one cope with such a situation? The one who has faced such illogical objections to his films is Sanjay Leela Bhansali, especially with 'Galiyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela' (2013) and 'Padmavat' (2018).

But now there is good news for makers wishing to do bold films. The two recent prime targets for bans, 'The Kashmir Files' and 'The Kerala Story', led to so much controversy that it led to a surge in public interest. A film on Kerala, of which nobody thinks about except for being a beautiful tourism destination? What was happening with the women there was no secret and was always in the news. People were indifferent as if it was all happening in some other part of the world! Even the television news channels barely touched the subject. So what was it about the film version that stirred up such a frenzy?

With both 'The Kashmir Files' and 'The Kerala Story', the people at large were aware that injustice had been meted out to people about which there was nothing they could do. Now, they are doing so by endorsing such films. More vocal the calls for ban, the more the chances of people countering such calls.

How would one account for 'The Kashmir Files' doing 12 times the business of the same filmmaker's, 'The Tashkent Files'! The film has done a business of Rs 244 crore. This is the kind of business successful commercial potboilers do. 'The Kerala Story' figures are equally unimaginable. Having opened with about Rs 8 crore on day one, it has grown each day and ended its first week with close to Rs 80 crore!

Thanks to the Ban Brigade, people want to see such films and honour the makers for their work. What is more, the governments which did not act on the issues at stake in Kashmir and Kerala are promoting such films by triggering open debates and giving tax exemption. A state's share of the tax on a cinema ticket is just 9 per cent, but the idea is more to give a symbolic endorsement to a film. IANS

Also Read: Supreme Court Seeks Response From Tamil Nadu And West Bengal On 'The Kerala Story’ Ban

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