Delhi HC ruling to allow screening of ‘Textures of Loss’ hailed

SRINAGAR: The Delhi High Court judgment asking the censor board to issue a certificate for public screening of a documentary, “Textures of Loss”, has been welcomed by filmmakers and media personalities, particularly those who have also made documentaries on Kashmir and faced problems during screening.

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 28

The Delhi High Court judgment asking the censor board to issue a certificate for public screening of a documentary, “Textures of Loss”, has been welcomed by filmmakers and media personalities, particularly those who have also made documentaries on Kashmir and faced problems during screening.

The documentary by filmmaker Pankaj Butalia is based on violence in J&K.

Filmmakers makers have termed the court ruling as useful, but argue that the mindset at the government and political level needs to allow free screening of films touching controversial subjects.

“I think the HC judgment is a useful and welcome one, but it will have limited impact,” said Kashmiri documentary filmmaker Sanjay Kak. Kak’s documentary on Kashmir conflict “Jashn-e-Azadi” was released in 2007.

“After all, when the next such film comes before the board for certification, its members will respond according to their own views. And, given the political nature of all appointees to the censor board, they will reflect a certain kind of politics. To contest that will mean appealing to the appellate board and to begin the whole exhausting process of legal remedy,” Kak said.

The filmmakers argue that having a censor certificate provides a filmmaker with limited protection and screening of documentaries will be dictated by the local police, politicians or administrators.

“So tomorrow, if the authorities want to stop the screening of Pankaj Butalia’s film at Tagore Hall, they can. The certificate cannot help him then,” added Kak, who has never submitted his films to the censor board.

In fact, the same fate was met by ‘Ocean of Tears’, a documentary directed by Kashmir-based Bilal Jan. The screening of the documentary was stopped at the University of Kashmir and Aligarh Muslim University last year despite it having been produced under the banner of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust of India and supported by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.