Anand Patwardhan’s continues to fight for the broadcast of his film on Indian TV

The Telegraph
July 21, 2006

Holy War, for court’s eyes
OUR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

The Supreme Court and a poster of the film Father, Son and Holy War

New Delhi, July 20: Documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan’s Father, Son and Holy War was today screened before a Supreme Court bench hearing Doordarshan’s plea against a Bombay High Court order directing the public broadcaster to telecast the film.

A division bench headed by Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, which saw the two-hour film on religious violence this evening, had asked to see the film before hearing arguments on behalf of Prasar Bharati and Patwardhan.

The filmmaker, who was present at the screening organised by Prasar Bharati, had moved court after the public broadcaster refused to telecast the film on Doordarshan’s national network.

While Patwardhan has been arguing that Doordarshan was being arbitrary and had violated his freedom of expression, Prasar Bharati contended that the film could not be shown as it had sexually explicit scenes and speeches which could incite religious passion.

Both parties entered into protracted litigation over the broadcast of the film, which has won national and international awards.

The filmmaker had first approached Bombay High Court after Prasar Bharati refused to telecast the documentary submitted by him in 1995. The court ruled in his favour in 2001 but Doordarshan filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, which asked the broadcaster to reconsider its decision.

When Doordarshan rejected the film again, Patwardhan filed a new petition in Bombay High Court, which ruled in his favour in 2003. Prasar Bharati, thereafter, once again filed an appeal in the apex court.

While Patwardhan has pointed out that Doordarshan rejected the film a second time despite a favourable decision by the screening committee, Prasar Bharati contended that the panel ignored the fact that films certified “A’’ — having mature content — could not be broadcast in keeping with its policy.

In its petition challenging the high court order, Prasar Bharati said production-wise, too, the documentary “does not leave any mark. The scenes and topics are repeated again and again’’.

But Patwardhan said film-maker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, who scrutinised the film for Doordarshan, had stated that it had a “secular message relevant to our times and our society’’ but had recommended scrutiny by a larger committee as some parts were “religio-political in nature’’. The film was, thereafter, was also cleared by the larger committee.

This is not the first time that Patwardhan has moved court for broadcast of his film on Doordarshan. His films like Bombay Our City (on the plight of the poor), In Memory of Friends (on the fight for communal harmony in Punjab) and Ram ke Naam (In the name of Ram) on the Ayodhya issue were aired on court orders.

Father, Son and Holy War, which won national awards for best social film and best investigative film in 1996, looks at the question of gender along with the issue of religious violence. It is the third in a trilogy of films — Memory of Friends and Ram ke Naam being the first two — against communal violence.