Let us develop zero tolerance
to the gagging of artistic work

Any attempt to stop the screening of 'Sins' must be thwarted by the community of artistes

Hats off to Vinod Pandey for the way he defended his rights as an artiste who has abided by every law of the land and yet a handful of blinkered fools, who proclaim themselves to be the representatives of their communities, are demanding a gag on him.

It can happen. Sins may be banned. The Church has direct access to the super PM's office. It had played a very important role in bringing her back to power when Padres acted as the election agents of the Congress party. It is they who masterminded the eviction of the Parrikar government in Goa. They may invade the cultural arena now with evangelical zeal demanding gag orders and bans.

However, their task is not going to be easy if a filmmaker like Vinod Pandey stands in their way who has a mind of his own and who knows what is he talking about. Going by what happened on R.K. Bajaj Show (RKB Show)* on Sahara Samay, Mumbai, on February 20, 2005, we can be assured of a spirited fight back by a committed artiste to any ban order.
* You can write to Sahara Samay for the transcript of the show at rkb@saharasamay.com
 

It was a remarkable event. Generally filmmakers turn into pacifist pigeons while dealing with bigoted elements. One who can call a spade a spade right on the face of the bigot is a rarity. It happened once in 1977 when some film artistes chose to speak their minds out against the authoritarian rule of Indira Gandhi. It was a bold and dangerous thing to do in those times. But they did it anyway. These days if you are on the wrong side of the Roman Catholic Church, you take a huge risk. And Vinod Pandey has done the unthinkable. He has provoked these guys and has thrown a challenge before all who try to act as super censor boards by invoking their self proclaimed role as the saviours of their faith and community.

The myth that an artiste has to necessarily pander to the whims, customs, and traditions of the community(ies) has to be buried forever. The other day a cheap film reviewer castigated the maker of Pinjer for portraying a community in wrong light. He wanted the filmmaker to secularize his work for political correctness. A true artiste has to be a non-conformist. He is at his 'provocative' best when faced with adversity and moronic opposition. It is true that he compromises here and there but he keeps the choice to himself. It is he who chooses if he has to cater to the demands of the market, or the laws of the land, or his own conscience, or to strike a golden balance between these three to ensure his survival.
 

That is what Vinod Pandey said at the RKB show. He won't be dictated by anyone after having taken the mandatory walk through the corridors of hell called the Censor Board of Film Certification. His tone was definite and defiant as if he was proclaiming, " If you dare to burn me on stake, I am prepared for that but I will not cower and cringe and crawl before dubious sons of Christ, Mohammad, Bajrangbali, Ram, Raavan, Pope, Soap, Marx, Mao, Gandhi, Nehru, Sonia, Thakare, Lalu, Atal, Jaya, Maya, and Mamta, etc., if I choose to do so."

The community of true artistes, filmmakers in particular, must safeguard its basic interest i.e. seeking and securing the freedom to express freely without fear or favour. We must stand by Vinod Pandey for this reason alone.

We have to be particularly watchful of the present political dispensation. They are the original status-quoists and control freaks. Their roots are so deep that Vajpayee could do nothing to reform or weed out or expose their agents in various establishments. They have never believed in the freedom of expression. Whenever these elements have come to power in Delhi, they have eliminated the voice of dissent in a systematic manner. We must not forget that the practice of burning cinema halls, because they screened films that portrayed ideas and idols worshipped by the Brahmins among the political class in bad light, was started by Marxputras and the Maoists. In the most recent history it is these people who have banned books and plays in Maharashtra, and West Bengal.
 

They are doing what was not done in the six years of the so called 'fascist regime' of Vajpayee.*They are going to censor the TV and internet content now. They are working on draconian laws to gag all contrary voices and opinions. They are preparing grounds to stay in power for the next 40 years. They think, it can only be possible through absolute control over every institution. New committees are being formed with the Marxists and the Nehru Khandaan stooges adorning them. They will decide what we should watch, hear, and express. They can go to any length. Nothing is sacrosanct for them. Every rule and law can be twisted and turned to consolidate their political power.

What happened in Goa? In the six years of Vajpayee rule the nation was free from the problem of the misuse of the Governor's office to further the political cause of the ruling brigade in Delhi. The much voluble DMK chief did not even utter a single word against the unconstitutional deed of Sonia Congress. This was very surprising. The importance of catholic votes in Tamilnadu may be the cause of this eloquent silence.

This is just the beginning. The message is being conveyed to all to fall in line or be ready to face the consequences. The Prasar Bharati has already changed its colours and it does not even pretend to be neutral any more. It did not take much time for the officials at Doordarshan to block the airing of a film on JP after the NDA government was thrown out.

*To the credit of a 'fascist' and 'barbaric' Vajpayee, there is not a single instance of banning of books, films, and any other form of artistic expression during the NDA rule.
 

However, this is not the time to talk about politics. Let us celebrate the fact that we still have filmmakers like Vinod Pandey who have the guts to stand up to the coercion and browbeating of the bigots.

As far as his film 'Sins' is concerned, we shall talk about it khullamkhulla after its release.

RKS