Screened at KIFF 2024, Bengali film ‘Kalponik’ now faces censorship hurdles

A Bengali film, which was screened at the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) last year, has met with Censor Board hurdles for its storyline and some scenes referring to the discovery of an ancient temple underneath the floor of a place of worship, making its director frustrated.

While the Censor Board suggested several cuts in ‘Kalponik’, saying some scenes might hurt the sensibilities of a section of people, its director Arka Mukhopadhyay asserted that the audience is mature enough.

The movie narrates a fictional story about unearthing of an ancient temple and the nexus between a section of the media and political parties, Mukhopadhyay said on Tuesday.

“We wanted to commercially release the film on July 11, and submitted it to the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) office here in June. The Board refused to give the nod, objecting to a few scenes and recommended sending it to the CBFC Revising Committee,” he stated.

The 15-member CBFC Revising Committee in Mumbai also voiced apprehension after watching the film on June 22 and verbally flagged issues about some scenes, which they think may not look appropriate to a section of the audience and hurt their sensibilities, the director said.

“Their apprehension is unfounded. We think the people of this country are mature enough to grasp the message of any film and well-versed with the nuances of cinema and film language,” he said.

An official of the regional CBFC said the Board made certain recommendations about the movie.

“Also, going by the protocols, an application for a censor certificate for a film in June can never follow-up with a July release even if no objections are raised,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The film was screened in the KIFF 2024’s Official Selection section of Bengali Panorama.