BOMBAY TIMES (January 19, 2018)

After anxiously waiting to announce the release date of Padmaavat, the film’s makers earlier this week officially announced that the movie will hit the theatres on February 25. But their troubles were far from over as its release was banned by the governments of four states — Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. However, yesterday, the makers heaved a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court stayed the ban imposed on the Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh-Shahid Kapoor-starrer, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The court’s order said, “We direct that there shall be a stay of operation on the notification and orders issued and we also restrain other states from issuing such notifications or orders in this matter.”

A bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud observed that the film has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with a U/A certificate for an all-Indian screening, after considering the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, which prohibits scenes that denigrate women. Bhansali’s legal counsel Harish Salve cited the 2011 judgment of the SC that allowed the screening of Prakash Jha’s controversial film Aarakshan as an example.

BT spoke to filmmakers whose labour of love has faced opposition from fringe elements, which indirectly posed pressure on the respective state governments, leading to an unofficial ban on several movies. And they were unanimous in saying that every ban — whether official or unofficial — ultimately affects their film, months of hard work and their freedom of expression.

– Team BT
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FILMMAKER RAHUL DHOLAKIA (HIS NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING FILM PARZANIA FACED AN UNOFFICIAL BAN IN GUJARAT)
I just feel that we keep wasting the Supreme Court’s time. The Chief Ministers of various states should know better than to ban films at their own whim and fancy. It’s about time someone told them that they are not above the law and that we should be left alone.

SHOOJIT SIRCAR (HIS FILM MADRAS CAFÉ FACED OPPOSITION IN TAMIL NADU FROM TAMIL OUTFITS)
The SC has taken the right decision as it’s perfectly democratic. No one has the right to take law and order in their hands and resort to violence. If you have a problem, take your grievances to court. Today, it’s about a film. Tomorrow, it will be about someone’s personal life. A state should give complete security to the film-goers and the film, which didn’t happen in the case of my film, Madras Café. People were scared to go to theatres at the thought of them being vandalised. Ironically, it was Tamil Nadu that saw the maximum sale of the film’s DVDs. If I have made a film and say it goes beyond the validity of society, you have a body like the CBFC, which will decide that. As filmmakers, we can’t go door-to-door and show our film when we have an authority like the CBFC, which is a democratic and government body. When every film or character that is even remotely close to real life faces trouble, the realism that a filmmaker wants to bring to cinema, suffers. If you feel that a filmmaker has gone overboard, you have a right to oppose, but not in this fashion. Responsible filmmakers won’t take creative liberties and create stories that are not in the history books. That’s our social responsibility as filmmakers. We need to make sure our work is rooted in reality.

ANURAG KASHYAP (HIS FILM BLACK FRIDAY FACED A BAN)
Until and unless the government doesn’t make a statement on this and make this into a non-practice, we will have to keep going to the courts. I hope the time comes when we don’t have to do that. I wish the makers (of Padmaavat) had done this earlier. I have been wasting my time and resources for a long time. In a country that easily takes offense and people taking offense scares the votebank politicos, this is and this will be a normal practice. So, either one takes the road of the law till the very end or give into what is expected of us. Either way, there is no point complaining. You fight or you give in…call it unfair but your rights won’t be given to you. You have to fight for them and stand up for them.

SHABANA AZMI (HER FILM KISSA KURSI KA WAS BANNED BY THE GOVERNMENT DURING THE EMERGENCY OF 1975; FIRE (1996) FACED PROTESTS IN MANY PARTS OF THE COUNTRY)
The film has been cleared by the CBFC. Of what value is it if the State cannot defend its own certificate? The filmmaker has been crying hoarse that there is nothing objectionable in the film that the CBFC has cleared. I’m sure it will become a huge success and I wish it all the best. The law of the land must apply with immediate effect so that a strong message is conveyed that the government has zero tolerance for violence or a call to violence against any citizen of this country.

MADHUR BHANDARKAR (HE WAS DRAGGED TO COURT OVER HIS FILM, INDU SARKAR)
The Supreme Court decided in my favour a day before Indu Sarkar released. And this, when I was fighting three different battles: one political, one with the CBFC and one with a girl who claimed she was Sanjay Gandhi’s daughter. Imposing or demanding bans have been happening for years to filmmakers. The courts have cleared films that were also banned by the CBFC on numerous occasions. People are diverse, their thoughts and opinions differ and they all want their opinions to be given prominence.

We have to be mentally prepared to face these challenges as filmmakers. I understand that and today, I welcome the decision of the SC. The state governments will now have to look into the law and order situation and ensure that the film gets a smooth release.
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As first reported in mid-day, Padmaavat makers cite Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan as precedent to overturn state governments’ ban
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 19, 2018)

It was a victory of freedom of expression as the Supreme Court yesterday cleared Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat for release, by staying the ban imposed by the governments of several states including Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, the bench said it is the duty of states to maintain law and order and that the creative content is an inseparable aspect of Article19 (1), freedom of speech and expression.

As told to mid-day (January 18 edition), the producers’ counsel cited the example of Prakash Jha’s caste-reservation drama Aarakshan (2011), which was banned in certain states until the SC overturned the decision. Using that as precedent, the legal team argued that once the Censor Board has certified a movie, no state can ban it. It also argued that the makers had complied with the changes recommended by the Censor Board.

For an industry that largely shied away from commenting on the Bhansali’s months-long battle, it welcomed the SC decision with open arms. Shabana Azmi, one of the few actors to initiate a petition asking PM Narendra Modi to offer protection to Deepika Padukone, said, “I welcome the decision. But there remains the unresolved matter of no action being taken against those who placed a bounty on Deepika's head. Immediate action needs to be taken against these criminal elements so as to send out a clear signal to the country that the dignity of women is supreme and neither abusive language nor violent threats will go unpunished.”

Director Hansal Mehta reiterated how the banning of a film that has been cleared by the CBFC in the first place, is unconstitutional. “It’s a good sign that the Supreme Court has upheld the decision. The entire team of Padmaavat can heave a sigh of relief.”

Raza Murad, who plays Jalaluddin Khilji in the magnum opus, described it as a “victory of democracy.” “I think true change can be brought about when the government deals with people who create nuisance with an iron hand.”