Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; October 22, 2018)

Filmmaker Shazia Iqbal has penned an open letter, questioning the board members of the MAMI Film Festival, for dropping her short film Bebaak from the line-up. According to her post, the film was set to have its world premiere at the fest this year, but the board decided to drop it “because one of the producers of the film is Anurag Kashyap.”

When BT reached out to Shazia, she was on a location reccee for an upcoming project. Talking about the entire episode, she says, “I am just waiting for their response to officially reach me. They were not giving me a reason in writing while I was writing to them continuously. They have issued a response on a social media platform that they have done this to support the ongoing #MeToo movement. No one in my film is a proven offender or a complicit. This is just pulling down my work for no apparent reason.”

When asked if Anurag Kashyap, who has partly produced her film, is aware of her exchanges with the festival’s board, she says, “Anurag knew about my plan to write the letter. He told me that if something is not done right, go ahead and fight it. He was a board member at MAMI and he’s stepped down because they are making him out to be a culprit. Kanu Bahl and Vikramaditya Motwane’s films are also suffering for the same reason. If that is their real stance, they should also drop other films like Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built. He is directly accused, not a complicit; one of the most powerful filmmakers to be outed during the #MeToo movement last year. Sean Beacon will have a masterclass, when one of his films has been produced by an accused of sexual harassment, too.”

Shazia feels that the festival’s decision could derail the movement. She explains, “If you punish people who have nothing to do with offenders, you will set a wrong example. My film Bebaak is against patriarchy and misogyny. It stands for the movement we’re into right now. Shutting my film down is not the right way to go. Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein were punished when found guilty, but the shows or the people around them were not penalised.”