(Ahmedabad Newsline
March 27, 2007)
‘Screen Parzania’ chorus gets louder
People speak out against unofficial ban on film in contest held by NGO
Express News Service
Vadodara, March 26: AFTER a Delhi-based NGO ANHAD recently carried out an SMS/E-mail contest on 'Screen Parzania in Gujarat', the chorus against the 'unofficial' ban on the film in the state, is getting clearer and louder. ANHAD's contest had 99.5% respondents demanding that the film be screened in the state, and those who sent the 10 best entries condemning the 'unofficial' ban on Parzania, had a chance to meet the film’s cast. Seven of 10 winners from across the state met Parzania lead actors Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika in Mumbai on March 25 and interacted with them at length.
The 'Screen Parzania…' contest received a total 437 responses from across the state, of which two were in support of the ban. The contest was declared open for 15 days after advertisements in local newspapers.
Shabnam Hasmi from ANHAD said, "Gujarat is showing signs of growing dictatorship, which is taking away citizens' basic rights of expression." A contest winner, Nayan Patel, a Jan Vikas activist, said, "It is not just an issue of freedom of speech but there is much more at stake and we need to fight it out before it gets too late." He said Parzania is a movie which will make sensitive people realise their guilt.
He said, "Who are they to decide what I should watch or not? Gujarat is a part of democratic India and it is the Censor Board that decides." He said it was sad that the Modi establishment did not make a single statement publicly on providing security cover to those who wanted to watch the movie.
Another winner, Sanita Xalxo, a second-year LLB student at Gujarat University, said, "When films related to riots and other communal issues can be screened in Mumbai then why not Gujarat.”
Govind Desai from Rajkot, again a contest winner, said, "We had enriching interaction with Sarika and Shah. It was all about how the 2002 riots affected one community and how basic human rights are being violated on a day-to-day basis across the nation." He said politicians should not use muscle power against any film, which are a strong medium to take any issue to the peoples. He said that Parzania has the capability of shaking Gujarat's conscience.
Another winner from Vadodara, Szar, said, "It was good to see that youngsters really went out of their way to try to get the film screend. We live in a democratic state and cannot see fascism coming back." He questioned as to why people should obey a ban which was called by Babu Bajrangi, an expelled member of a political group. However, Szar said while he had lost some friends when he wrote against the ban.
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