Filmmaker Suman Ghosh — who had to contend with the Central Board of Film Certification in 2017 before it freed the “cow” and four other words that were asked to be beeped out from his documentary on Nobel laureate Amartya Sen—has run into trouble again. This time it’s with his feature film ‘Aadhaar’, a Hindi comic drama (starring Vineet Kumar Singh).

Only it’s not a tussle between Ghosh and the certifying body, but a “super censor” in the form of Unique Identification Authority of India that issues Aadhaar card. The UIDAI has proposed “28 cuts” to the film — cleared by CBFC in 2019 — stalling its release without the legal authority to do so.

TOI reached out to a UIDAI official in Delhi, who confirmed the department had “watched the film and asked for edits” but refused to comment any further.

The film was meant to release commercially on February 5 this year. Just after the trailer launch in January, my producer (Jio Studios) got a call from UIDAI officials asking for a screening,” says Ghosh, who teaches economics at Miami and makes films in India. “I wasn’t in India at the time. The film was screened for officials in Delhi in February following which they suggested 28 cuts for clearance.”

The film, written and directed by Ghosh and co-produced by Jio Studios and Drishyam Films, is set in 2010 and tells the story of Pharsua (a fictional villager from Jharkhand) who falls into an abyss when the village numerologist makes ominous predictions based on his Aadhaar number. “It then follows Pharsua’s journey where the significance of having an Aadhaar card gets superseded by superstitious elements that often create obstacles in rolling out national initiatives,” explains Ghosh, stressing that the film, in fact, “bolsters the case of the Aadhaar initiative”.

But with UIDAI as the final arbiter of Aadhaar’s destiny, the film’s release is currently hinged on objections that range from the use of a dialogue ‘Main Aadhaar Hoon’—a play on the title of a 1989 Amitabh Bachchan film ‘Main Azaad Hoon’— “which officials claim is demeaning the Aadhaar program”; a scene where a villager, trying to understand the privacy issue, asks: ‘Sarkar kya hamare ghusal khane mein ghus jayenge?’ (Will the government come into our bathrooms?); and a sequence where an old man wants to get his cataract removed for Aadhaar’s biometrics. “They felt it was an improper representation of their biometric recognition system that has now been upgraded,” says Ghosh.

“These points are redundant because the film is set in the year that enrollments for Aadhaar cards began. A certification board exists for a sensible call on the creative process. How can government officials who have no understanding of metaphor, allegory or satire in a film, issue diktats on its content,” stresses Ghosh, who is currently in Mumbai and wrote to Saurabh Garg, CEO of UIDAI last week describing the intent of his film.

“I teach development economics and understand the usefulness of a card like Aadhaar. As an economist, I have been a strong advocate of the initiative,” said Ghosh in his letter, adding that he had developed the film’s concept to bring awareness among masses about the potential benefit of a digital identity.

When CBFC had proposed cuts to Ghosh’s documentary ‘The Argumentative Indian’, he could contest it and seek official redressal. “The board’s regional review committee in Mumbai watched it afresh and after an amicable discussion cleared it with one cut,” recounts Ghosh. “In this case, I don’t know how to proceed. The UIDAI verbally conveyed the changes to my producer but has stonewalled my requests for an official list of demands or a meeting,” Ghosh said. “Although legally they can’t stop the film’s release, my producer is treading on eggshells. Why should we have to go through this?”

That, in sum, is what filmmakers across the country, too, have been trying to forewarn since the I&B ministry proposed the Indian Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 in June, which, if passed, would give the central government “revisionary powers” to “re-examine” films already cleared by CBFC. More than 1,500 actors and filmmakers, including Kamal Haasan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Hansal Mehta, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar and Mira Nair, wrote an open letter to the ministry earlier this month expressing concern that the move would render them “vulnerable to threats, vandalism and intimidation of mob censors.”

Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 22, 2019)

Actor Viineet Kumar has been working continuously. “Yes, I haven’t had time off since August, 2018,” says the actor, who has shot for seven projects over the last one year. So, the Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012) actor had recently flown to Goa for a mini vacation with his sister. “After shooting for the Hindi remake of Thiruttu Payale 2, I headed to Goa. It was my sister’s birthday and we had a small celebration there. The last few days of the shoot drained me completely as I couldn’t get enough sleep. I was mentally exhausted as well,” he says.

The vacation proved to be therapeutic for the actor. He shares, “I wanted to go to the mountains because they are very peaceful. But I had to listen to my sister. I spent my time at the beaches of Goa, watching sunsets and gazing at the starry skies at night.”

He further adds, “For the past year, I had been working on Bard Of Blood, Aadhaar, Saand Ki Aankh, Tryst With Destiny, Betaal, Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl, and the Hindi remake of Thiruttu Payale 2. And so, I wanted to slow down the momentum, contemplate on life and prepare myself for the road ahead.”

Viineet says that the vacation was a stress buster for him, as some characters that he played took an emotional toll on him. “After playing certain characters, you feel completely drained. A break helps one maintain their sanity and helps strike a balance between personal and professional lives,” says the Gold (2018) actor.

He, however, wishes he could’ve extended his stay in Goa a while longer. “Soon, I started getting calls and I had to go back to reading scripts. I don’t know when leisure turned into business. After Mukkabaaz (2017), I was reading scripts for six months without taking any break. I wanted to experiment with my films and characters and I ended up committing myself to too many projects. So, leaving one character behind and moving on to the next became a taxing process,” he signs off.

Producer Manish Mundra won many hearts two years ago through Newton, a political film without politicians, and based in a rural setting. Now he is back with a film in similar space, Aadhaar. And just like the 2017 film, Aadhaar turns out to be a funny and touching flick!

The story of the film: The year is 2010. Pareshnath Pandit aka Pharsua (Viineet Kumar) resides in Jamua village, Jharkhand. One day government officials Parmanand Singh (Saurabh Shukla) and Rastogi (Istay Arif Khan) pay a visit to Jamua to inform them about the new government scheme called Aadhaar. Both Singh and Rastogi try to enlighten the villagers about its benefits. But the Jamua residents don't show interest. The day the Aadhaar centres commences, not a single resident turn up. Pharsua feels that having an Aadhaar can be beneficial for him. Singh even tempts villagers by claiming that they can get monetary benefit directly from government if they get their Aadhaar done. Pharsua feels he can get the cataract surgery done of his father (Raghuvir Yadav) if he avails of the services of Aadhaar. Hence he arrives at the centre to do the needful and thereby he becomes the first person in the whole of Jharkhand to get an Aadhaar card. A state minister even arrives to Jamua to honour Pharsua. Overnight he becomes a hero of sorts. However in a few days, the Aadhaar card, which was supposed to be a boon in his life, turns out to be a nightmare for him.

Aadhaar begins on a fun note as Parmanand faces a harrowing time in explaining the simpletons of Jamua the definition of an Aadhaar card. Things obviously get better as Pharsua takes up the initiative and gets his Aadhaar done. His speech sequence is also worth a watch. Once the conflict emerges, the film gets a bit serious, especially when the madness shifts from Jamua to Ranchi. A few scenes here are a bit unconvincing and also heavy. Also, Pharsua is shown to be too simple and unaware of the realities of life. This probably is how it is for many people who are blinded by superstition. But somehow, it doesn’t come out well in a few scenes. The finale thankfully is great.

Aadhaar boasts of a fabulous performance by Viineet Kumar. He gets back into his fabulous Mukkabaaz zone and puts up a great show. Your heart goes out to him in the second half, especially in a crucial scene where he breaks down. Saurabh Shukla is next best. His role is a bit in the Jolly LLB zone but he keeps the frustration level in check so that it doesn’t become a carbon copy. Thanks to a strong performer like him, the character of Parmanand Singh gets a nice touch. Prrithvi Hatte looks every inch an villager and lends able support. Istayak Arif Khan is the surprise of the film. His performance is fabulous and his one-liners and shayaris will bring the house down! Sanjay Mishra is extremely convincing as the conniving astrologer. Raghuvir Yadav is decent while Ekavali Khanna makes her presence felt as Dahiya madam. Other actors who do well are Vishwanath Chatterjee (Minister) and Amarjeet Singh (Kallu).

Suman Ghosh's story is superb and based on a great idea. It takes a very balanced view of Aadhaar card and also makes an interesting comment on the difference between India and Bharat, blind faith etc. Suman Ghosh and Amitosh Nagpal's screenplay is uncomplicated. The story moves in a linear fashion and does justice to all the characters. A few developments however are difficult to digest. Amitosh Nagpal's dialogues are one of the strengths of the film. The one-liners are either too funny or too sharp and are bound to induce claps!

Suman Ghosh's direction is neat. He does justice to the rural surroundings and one get sucked into the world of Jamua. The characterization is also done beautifully. The romantic track of Pharsua and his wife Rani (Prrithvi Hatte) might seem a bit needless at first but later, it turns out to be the most crucial factor of the narrative. On the flipside, he should have made some scenes convincing especially the way the villagers are shown to be extremely ignorant.

Shantanu Moitra's music gels well with the film and that’s about it. No song will linger in one’s mind for long. Background score is subtle and also dramatic. Ravi Kiran Ayyagari's cinematography is spectacular, capturing the locales of Jamua, Deogarh and Ranchi very nicely. Angelica Monica Bhowmick's production design is straight out of life. Same goes for Sachin Lovalekar's costumes. Bodhaditya Banerjee's editing is great and no complaints here.

On the whole, Aadhaar is a funny and an emotional tale that deserves to be seen for it’s interesting plot and script and fabulous performances. It releases on December 6 in India and here’s hoping it manages to pull audiences through a strong word of mouth!

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!