Two filmmakers on Monday withdrew a plea against rejection of their films from the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) after the Union government told Bombay High Court the decision was based on criteria and not the critical content of the documentaries.
A division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and R I Chagla was hearing a petition filed by filmmakers Anand Patwardhan and Pankaj Rishi Kumar after their films were rejected by MIFF organisers.
The petitioner's counsel Mihir Desai had argued that while no reasons were officially assigned by the film festival organisers for rejecting the films, the film makers apprehend it could be because these films are critical of the present political scenario.
On Monday, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for Films Division of Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which organises MIFF, told the court the films were rejected after the selection committee viewed them.
"The committee comprises expert filmmakers working independently and the government has no role to play in the selection of the movies. The grounds of rejection were not because the films were critical. There are set parameters followed by the committee while selecting movies," Singh said.
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The court, while accepting Singh's statement, noted that when such decisions are taken the view taken globally is that critical views are not allowed to be voiced.
"We should not inflict further damage to India by not accepting a contrary view. People who voice a contrary view feel that they are targeted and hence are excluded. You (government) should also give them a platform," said Justice Dharmadhikari.
"Suppose tomorrow there is a movie against the recent law of citizenship, you may reject it here but it may get attention worldwide," the court said by way of an example.
The bench added that documentary movies have undergone a change with passage of time.
"Earlier documentaries were to publicise government schemes, but now it has changed," it said.
Singh reiterated the movies were rejected based on the criteria set out by the committee and not because of their critical content.
"The other movies selected were better," he said.
The court then noted that the committee had viewed the petitioners' movies before rejecting them.
After this, Patwardhan and Kumar sought to withdraw their petition, which was allowed by the court.
The five-day festival scheduled to begin on January 28 aims to provide a platform for documentary and short film makers from all over the world to meet, exchange ideas and explore possibilities of co-production and marketing of documentaries, short and animation films.
The petition claimed the selection committee acted in an arbitrary and malafide manner by rejecting three of their movies.
Patwardhan's "Vivek/Reason" documents the ascendancy of a particular political ideology in recent times. It covers the murders of rationalists such as Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M M Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh, and investigates the connection of these crimes to various sectarians outfits.
It also looks at violent attacks on Muslims and Dalits in the name of cow protection, the caste-based discrimination that led to the suicide of young student leader and scholar Rohith Vemula, and other outbursts of violence, large and small, connecting them to present an overview of the turmoil that India is presently witnessing.
Pankaj Rishi Kumar's movie "Janani's Juliet" follows the story of Indianostrum, a Puducherry-based theatre group, which, disturbed by a spate of honour killings in India, sets out to introspect the implications of caste, class and gender.
Kumar's second entry, "Two Flags", chronicles the life and politics of Puducherry.
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