Such a transgression on the part of the administration is even more hypocritical at a time when the Trinamul Congress, the police’s political master, has been protesting against - quite rightly - the high-handedness of the Bharatiya Janata Party that is cracking the whip at the Centre. It is unfortunate that the fate of creative licence for artists has not changed much in spite of power changing hands in Bengal. There were several instances of plays and films being given the stick when the Left Front was in power. Bengal, which claims to honour pluralism in thought and deed, too, has had a long tradition of curbing the freedom of expression.
Unfortunately, interventions by the State in matters of creative freedom are common in this democracy. Their fear of the shadowy powers is undoubtedly greater than that of ghosts.
Yet, theatre owners and those in charge of multiplexes refused to adhere to the law. The law of the land makes it clear that once a film receives the clearance of the Central Board of Film Certification, a statutory censorship and classification unit functioning under the aegis of the ministry of information and broadcasting, there is no need for a special screening for the police. The request from the police - was it not more of a threat? - is unwarranted. The makers of the film had been asked to arrange for a screening lest the film - some say it is a political satire - ruffled the feathers in some influential constituencies. But the mystery cleared a bit after the producer and the director made public a missive that they had received from an officer of the state detective department. Nobody quite knew why theatres around the city stopped showing Bhobishyoter Bhoot. Initially, it was all quite mysterious, even spooky. A film on ghosts has been taken off theatre screens without adhering to due process. Malevolence seems to be the monopoly of those made up of flesh and blood. Anik Dutta said, 'as an independent filmmaker' he had the right to do so.At one of the early protest rallies, Sabyasachi Chakraborty who acts in the film, said he suspected it may not be the government that had decided to scuttle the film screening but perhaps rival film producers close to the ruling party.Anik Dutta's debut film Bhooter Bhobishyot of 2012 was a huge hit.Spirits are seldom malevolent. The film was critical of several political parties - CPM, BJP, RSS and Trinamool.
Anik Dutta said it was an attack on the freedom of expression. Earlier, a protest meeting was held outside the Academy of Fine Arts.Soumitra Chatterjee called it a 'fascist' act to pull the film off screens. Top actors in the city, including Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen, took to the streets on Sunday from Dhakuria to protest the muzzling of a film. Multiplex spokespersons initially claimed here were technical snags, then said 'higher ups' had called and asked for the film to be removed as it could 'cause law and order problems'.Sources said the calls had come from top police officers who could not be named.But filmmaker Anik Duttta, its producer and actors deemed it an attack on freedom of expression. But from the afternoon of the 16th, it simply disappeared from the multiplexes in the city and single screens, too. The producers had declined to oblige.Directed by Anik Dutta, the film was released with much fanfare on 15 February. But the Supreme Court today directed Mamata Banerjee's government to ensure that the film is screened without obstruction.The film, Bhobishyoter Bhoot - in English, The Ghost of the Future or The Past of the Future if you like - is labeled by those who have seen it as a dark satire on the state of politics and politicians of every hue in West Bengal.The Supreme Court has ordered the chief secretary and principal secretary to see that the film is screened.Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, when asked about the film's disappearance, had snapped, 'Don't ask me such questions.' The producers told Supreme Court the Censor Board had cleared the film and no one had the right to stop its screening.Just before the film's release, the Special Branch of West Bengal Police, had sought a special screening of the film as they had reports the film may lead to 'political law and order problems'. Kolkata:The ghostly disappearance of a Bengali film from screens a day after its release is still an unsolved mystery.
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