Nirbhaya’s friend wanted money for interview: Udwin

Bengaluru, March 15

British filmmaker Leslee Udwin who’s controversial documentary India’s daughter on the 2012 gang rape victim has been the subject of much talk in the country has claimed that the victim’s friend Avanindra Pandey, the sole witness to the gruesome incident, asked for money to appear in the documentary.

The film has been banned by the Indian Government. Udwin has called the ban “muzzling of free speech.”

In an interview, Leslee says that not a day passed while she was making the film when she did not question as to how a documentary can be made where the only living, surviving prosecution witness in this case is not in it.

The filmmaker said Avanindra wanted money to give his interview and she refused point blank as she thought it was unconscionable and unacceptable.

On Avanindra’s claims that he had no idea who Satendra, shown as the victim’s tutor was, Udwin said: “Well, that’s his problem, isn’t it. I mean... are you telling me Satendra doesn’t exist? I could give you his phone number, and you can call him up and you can ask him. He was asked by the family in 2006, before Avanindra even knew the victim, to tutor her. He did. He tutored her, and he also became a very, very close family friend. The family introduced me to Satendra.”

While Udwin refused to reveal how much money Avanindra asked for, she said they were trying till the end to get his version of the events. — Agencies

RSS mouthpiece slams BBC

New Delhi: Criticising the BBC for going ahead with the telecast of 'India's Daughter', an article in the latest edition of RSS mouthpiece ‘Organiser’ has accused the channel of ‘double standards’ and questioned its intentions behind running the film despite a ban. — PTI