Despite the challenges, a new wave of filmmakers continues to illuminate untold stories, challenging entrenched narratives and bringing forgotten truths to light
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised the film The Sabarmati Report produced by Ekta Kapoor and her Balaji Motion Pictures. Before this also PM has been praised films - The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story. It took almost seventy years after the independence of India, for a few courageous filmmakers like Vivek Agnihori to make Buddha in a Traffic Jam, The Tashkent Files, The Kashmir Files, and Vaccine War; Sanjay Puran Singh make 72 Hoorain and Sudipto Sen to make The Kerala Story and Bastar: The Naxal Story both produced by Vipul Shah. Fortunately, most of these films have been celebrated among the audiences overwhelmingly. The group of pseudo-secular, those who still control the fake narratives to spread one-sided, false propaganda throughout the world, have also been super active in dismissing these films.
But not all filmmakers are lucky enough; forget about PM’s praise to release their films, get proper distribution channels or theatres, or the cooperation from the local authorities, governments and positive reviews by film critics. It is almost swimming against the tide. After the success of those films, some independent filmmakers got the courage to tell the true stories, incidents which were unfortunately never been part of our history syllabus. The incidents were not discussed, or debated much by the elite of the society or the so-called liberal, secular, intellectual groups. Very few filmmakers dare to make films on those subjects, because, in most cases, the victims are the majority Hindu community while the oppressors are from other communities. Since the last many years there has been a tendency among the liberals, that whenever the Hindus are the victim, the stories have been buried with all extra efforts so that the so-called peace should be maintained in society.
Even if there has been immense loss of human lives, property, rape of women, and permanent displacement from the homeland, nothing is much more important than the pseudo ideology of keeping peace in the society to just appease the particular community.
That is why so far whatever films have been made on the partition of India very few films portrayed the true stories. Most of the films are sugar-coated to portray that the victims belong to both communities and it was a loss for everyone. No doubt the partition of India was a great loss for all the communities but why do we feel ashamed to point out the faults and the responsible people? Neither our history books nor the literature or cinema have been ever so brave as to tell the actual stories of our society.
Filmmaker M K Shivaaksh made the film Accident or Conspiracy: Godhra which is based on the infamous case of Godhra in Gujarat, where fifty-six Ram devotees were burnt alive in a train coach of the Sabarmati Express by one particular community. Again the film became the victim of the ecosystem and got a very limited release so the film can’t be seen by many people in the country. While The Sabarmati Report not only got praise from the PM but also Yogi Adityanath, Pushkar Singh Dhami and Naib Singh Saini took time to watch the film along with the crew and casts and made the film tax-free in their respective states UP, Uttarakhand and Haryana because of Ekta Kapoor - Smriti Irani connection. But Shivaaksh was not that lucky at all.
He had planned to release his film Accident or Conspiracy: Godhra in February but the censor board delayed the process for seven months. They have asked for literally all the evidence and the makers have provided all the related evidence based on the Nanavati - Mehta Commission Report, Court Verdicts, eyewitness records as well as all the supporting documents.
To study the material the censor board took seven months and even after that they gave the certificate where they chopped about fifty per cent of the content, informed Shivaaksh. Unfortunately, some renowned actors also took advantage of the situation from these novice young independent filmmakers to bully them, those who have good connections with the government agencies as well as some strong political backing. Initially, they talk big to bag the role and comparatively good remuneration, but after the film is completed, instead of helping the film for smooth sailing, they even discourage the other co-actors from not promoting their film just pretending to be secular. Forget to help with the censor process, they don’t even come forward to promote the film, nor even post on social media.
Pushpendra Singh director of Ajmer 92, Kamal Chandra director of Humare Baraah and Shivaaksh, all of them have the same terrible experiences with some of their actors. Akashaditya Lama’s Bengal 1947 described the hardships faced by the displaced Hindu refugees from the then East Pakistan now Bangladesh to the completely unknown, unfamiliar terrine of present days Chhatisgarh.
A few political leaders’ high ambitions divided the country into three different territories and created devastating for the crores of innocent people in the country. The film was released in very limited theatres. Akashaditya said that when he made the film in Chhatisgarh, the then Congress government helped him a lot without imposing many terms and conditions, then Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, told him only not to show Pundit Nehru in a bad light.
Even a cabinet minister came to receive the shooting team at the airport, and arranged the full-proof security for the entire team, with overwhelming hospitality. By the time the film got ready to release BJP government came to power in Chhatisgarh, but unfortunately, the film never got any special attention or tax rebate from the local government. However, the films have been screened at various film festivals.
In the same manner, another film The Diary of West Bengal directed by Sanoj Mishra has suffered massively at the hands of the government and political elements of West Bengal.
Finally, the film was released, which too a very limited release by the order of the court. All of these films are not only talking of the great human rights violations by one particular religious community towards the majority Hindu community but also these films are unbiased, true documentation of time a political era as well as the impact on society. Unfortunately, none of these films got any recognition, big awards or even tax rebates from the government. In this situation, a special section “The untold stories” could have been curated in the just concluded International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which would have been very much appropriate to showcase the film to the larger audiences, as well as the screening at IFFI would have certainly boosted the morale of the filmmakers.
(The writer is a Delhi based Film Festival curator. The views expressed are personal)
