Bengal bans The Kerala Story, producers’ body opposes overriding a CBFC certification
The Bengal chief minister on Monday banned the film The Kerala Story—which shows the story of three Muslim women converting to Islam and joining the terrorist group, ISIS—in the state in order to “avoid any incident of hatred and violence”. However, the PGI has come out against the ban on the basis of any film having a right to be exhibited once it has been okayed by the regulatory body, CBFC.
An hour after a press conference yesterday in which she bitterly criticised films furthering Hindutva’s Islamophobic propaganda and the saffron ecosystem’s attempts to play with fire, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee banned shows of the film, The Kerala Story in Bengal.
An official communique quoted the chief minister as saying the ban “is to avoid any incident of hatred and violence, to maintain peace in the state”.
At the press conference, Mamata Banerjee brought up films like The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story in the context of trouble in Manipur, saying the saffron camp is after creating “manmade” problems across the country to reap political dividends.
“Why did they come up with The Kashmir Files? To humiliate one section of people. What is The Kerala (Story)? Though I do not support the CPM (the ruling party in Kerala), I am talking about the people …,” she added.
However, dissenting voices have emerged regarding the ban.
Prominently, the Producers Guild of India (PGI) has opposed the ban, its statement saying that since film releases are regulated by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), one passing through that filter “should face no further hurdles in having the paying public decide on its fate”.
Prominent actor Shabana Azmi criticised it too, tweeting, “Those who speak of banning #The Kerala Story are as wrong as those who wanted to ban Aamir Khan’s #Laal Singh Chaadha. Once a film has been passed by the Central Board of Film Certification nobody has the right to become an extra constitutional authority.”
