‘These right-wingers can’t decide what India should see’
After a Pune college cancelled the screening of his controversial documentary, Ram Ke Naam, following threats from right-wing outfits, Anand Patwardhan has released it online
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 6, 2015)

On December 27, 2014, Anand Patwardhan's 1992 documentary Ram Ke Naam, was supposed to be screened at a fest in the Indian Law Society's Law College in Pune. However, the screening was abruptly cancelled at the nth hour. Patwardhan claimed it was due to threats from rightwing outfits. College authorities denied this saying that the screening was "postponed due to a low turnout".

Now in a move that defies ad-hoc censorship, Patwardhan whose film unsparingly examines the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's campaign to demolish the Babri Masjid and the communal violence that followed, has released his film on YouTube. Confirming this, the filmmaker told Mirror, "I've been thinking of releasing the film online for a while now and after the Pune incident, I decided it needed a platform without any censorship. The audience has the right to see it. These right-wingers can't decide what India should see."

The filmmaker's decision comes in the wake of several Hindutva outfits, including the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, causing havoc at several theatres across the country playing the Aamir Khan starrer PK, a satire on organized religion.

Added Patwardhan: "I've consistently fought censorship and will continue to do so. Ideally, I'd like the film to be seen in a mainstream theatre so it can trigger off discussions which happen only after a shared viewing experience. But for now, it is available online for everyone to watch."