Director Suman Ghosh has uploaded the trailer of his documentary on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen on Facebook in defiance of the censor board, which has not certified the film.
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani has objected to four words -- "cow", "Gujarat", "Hindutva" and "Hindu India" -- in the film "The Argumentative Indian".
The trailer does not contain the words but Nihalani has reportedly refused to allow even the release of the preview because the film, due to hit the screens yesterday, has not been cleared.
Ghosh said he decided to share the trailer with the public because he was not allowed to release the film.
"The 14th of July we were supposed to release our film THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN. Of course we were not allowed to. We had prepared a trailer for the release. Please share if you like it. The Tagore poem is recited by Victor Banerjee," Ghosh posted on his Facebook page yesterday.
"And I am indebted to the countrywide support from the people and media," his post said.
He posted again today with the link of a news report quoting Nihalani as saying that uploading the trailer without certification of the film is "illegal".
"So now curbs are being made about uploading a trailer on the Internet. Wonder where is all this going. Mr Nihalani's attack," Ghosh said.
Nihalani told the newspaper that Ghosh should not have uploaded the uncensored trailer online as the Cinematograph Act states that certification is required for public exhibition.
"The CBFC cannot dictate if I post a trailer on the Internet. It is not against the law," Ghosh added when contacted by PTI.
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