In the backdrop of the socio-political upheaval in Bangladesh, Hansal Mehta, whose film Faraaz was based on the Holey Artisan Bakery hostage-shootout in Dhaka (2016), expressed his views on what he said was the ‘tyranny’ of the ousted government that had banned his film in the country. In a social media post Mehta alleged he had been threatened and was under pressure from both ‘Indian agencies’ and ‘senior officials from Bangladesh’, to abort his film, which eventually took two years to find a small theatrical release before streaming on OTT.

In a conversation with Calcutta Times, the Scoop and Aligarh director elaborated on what transpired during the making of the film, the ban and his hopes from the young people and the creative community in the neighbouring country. Excerpts:

This idea came to me from Mahesh Bhatt. He was at an event where Faraaz, the protagonist of our film, was posthumously awarded for his bravery during the shootout. Bhatt sahab was moved by the story and shared the idea with me. I wanted to make the film because I realized it is not just a story about Bangladesh but a story of our times, about the ineptitude of the system in a time of crisis, and the youth of our times, and of the majoritarian chokehold on humanity. In my view, the tragic event was a catalyst for a larger story with a universal message. The characters could have been anywhere, the incident could have happened anywhere.

I have borne the brunt of the authoritarianism that the people in Bangladesh have been protesting. I know how they pressured me from the point the film was announced. I received calls and messages from various quarters not to make the film. There were senior cops, IAS and IFS officers who tried to intimidate me by saying, “RAW officers want your number.” I would tell them so please give them my number. Unfortunately, they were talking to the wrong person. Intimidation empowers me, it tells me I am doing something right. I even had the Bangladesh High commissioner fly down to Mumbai to meet me and tell me that I should not make the movie because it shows their government “in a very poor light.” This is what authoritarian and majoritarian governments like to do, control people’s voices, silence them. But my film is not critical of the government. In its core it is a human drama. But the litigation kept pouring in and it took me nearly two years to release the film.

The strange thing is all the petitions filed from Bangladesh were from the families of the victims. They were grieving and hurt, I understand. But there were people like this mother who filed a petition saying the film would destroy Bangladesh’s image in the world. They liked to present themselves as a progressive, efficient democracy under the former PM’s regime. And Faraaz was apparently against national interests. It simply did not make any sense and even today we have been going round in circles because the lawyers representing the petitioners simply do not show up. Obviously, the objections were manufactured. They also had a problem with me making the film. Since when did an incident of this nature become out of bounds for any filmmaker?

I went to Dhaka quietly to research for my film, and interviewed many young people, survivors and even acquired the rights to the book that takes you through the incidents of the night. Wherever I went I met people who kept saying that they were hopeful that a new Bangladesh would emerge, and they are in for better times. You see, when you suppress common people for so long, there will come a point when they rise in protest. That’s what’s happening now.

There is a counter narrative that this movement is powered by extremists and fundamentalists. It is not true. I have met people there. This movement has seen spirited participation of citizens from all walks of life and they are genuinely asking for a change. I hope they get the democracy they had been fighting for.

I sincerely hope the film reaches the people it is meant for. We have incurred a considerable financial burden with this ban. But I am always in solidarity for democracy, freedom, equality and justice. That’s what I stand for, my work and my films uphold these values. I am in solidarity with all like-minded people from my fraternity and outside anywhere in the world.

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I am aware of B’desh filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s film on the same incident which was delayed for similar reasons. It finally found a slot on OTT

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India is not Bangladesh or Pakistan. We have a robust judicial system. It took us time, but the courts ruled in our favour & our film was released here