;Forget cuss words, now even the images of Indian goddesses have failed to make the cut in front of the Indian censor board. In the soon-to-be-released film Angry Indian Goddesses, amongst the 17 cuts that the Indian censor board wanted filmmakers to make, was the blurring of the images of two Indian goddesses -- a picture of Lakshmi in the credits, and later in the movie, a picture of Kali. Movie producer Gaurav Dhingra said that he had failed to make the cut in front of the revising committee.
A group of filmmakers and scholars have written a letter written to Arun Jaitley, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Rathore, minister of state for I & B and C. Senthil Rajan, Director of Film Festivals condemning the manner in which students of the Film and Television Institute of India have been treated at the International Film Festival of India currently going on in Goa. They have pointed out that ex-students have been arrested for protesting and one student was even put in preventive detention. The letter reads:
Statement issued by filmmakers from India regarding the Nepal blockade. Issued at the Film South Asia, Kathmandu / 21 November 2015
As filmmakers from India who have gathered to share our work at the Film South Asia in Kathmandu this week, we would like to place on record our solidarity with the people of Nepal who are presently reeling from a grave humanitarian crisis, arising from what is tantamount to an economic blockade.
'Ultimately the roaring voice of the FTII students reached the IFFI (International Film Festival of India) inaugural held at Panaji, Goa. Just when the inaugural had formally ended, chief guest had spoken and the administration was on the cusp of heaving a sigh of relief for a ‘trouble free beginning’ and was contemplating to ‘pat its own back’ for managing to save its ‘image’ the precints of the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium reverberated with slogans in favour of the historic FTII struggle.
'Please meet the cleaned up, chaste, well behaved James Bond - trending in India as #SanskariJamesBond - an ironic hashtag prompted by a censor board decision to "cut short" Daniel Craig's kissing scenes in the movie Spectre, which releases in India on Thursday. That's right. James Bond in his current avatar, simply kisses too much for the tastes of the Indian censor board, and so they have been reduced in length.
'Pan Nalin’s internationally-acclaimed film Angry Indian Goddesses on female bonding and combating patriarchal tyranny, has encountered an expected snag. The Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) has objected strongly to what they see as profane references to Hindu goddesses. Says a source, “Major portions of the film have been hacked off by the Examining Committee.
'Among the 24 artistes who returned their National Awards on Thursday , two are rom Kolkata. They are director Amitabh Chakraborty and cinematographer Ranjan Palit. Speaking to TOI, Chakraborty said: "The trigger for me was the government's silence n resolving the FTTI issue. I passed out from FTII in 1985.The strike happened for four and a half months and yet lots of issues remain unresolved." A few weeks ago, many including Chakraborty had sent a letter to the President. "But nothing happened. As a last resort, I decided to return three of my national awards."
'The magnetism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not spared audiences turning out for Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. A 5.30-minute video singing the praises of the prime minister and the Centre's achievements is playing during the interval of Sooraj Barjatya's latest movie at several multiplex chains across the country, including PVR Cinemas and Inox. The video is the brainchild of Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani. It is an expanded version of his recent Mera Desh Hai Mahaan, Mera Desh Hai Jawan.
'Film star Shah Rukh Khan has found himself at the receiving end of a flurry of attacks and charges from BJP leaders over the past two days, with yoga guru Ramdev also chipping in to take a dig at the actor. Mr. Khan had recently spoken out against “increasing intolerance”, thus coming out in symbolic support of writers and film-makers who had been returning awards in protest.
'In a boost to the ‘award wapsi’ movement, film-makers Kundan Shah and Saeed Mirza were among two dozen artists who returned national awards on Thursday. Mr. Shah, an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), felt it was necessary to protest the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as FTII chairman. Kundan Shah sees larger plot to ‘take over culture’.
