While the attacks on Indian fishermen by the Lankan Navy are hogging the headlines, an aggrieved filmmaker, whose film on the families of fishermen killed in high seas was scuttled by the regional Censor Board, is all set to go on appeal with the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal.
Chennai-based filmmaker Leena Manimekalai, whose docu-fiction ‘Sengadal’ (Red Sea) was shot down on grounds that it contained ‘political references in a denigrating way’, feels that the refusal is politically motivated. “Through the movie, we brought out voices of the widows who lost husbands to the guns of the Lankan navy. Every single household in Dhanushkodi had lost a person.” She said, “I will knock at all the doors of democracy. This denial of clearance is infringing upon the artiste’s freedom of expression.”
The board had cited reasons for refusal: “This film contains many political references in a denigrating way and usage of many unparliamentary words. There are some denigrating reference to the functioning of the Lankan government. As it violates the guidelines 2(13), 2(16) and 2(18), certificate to the film is refused.”
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