At 1.30 p.m today, Celluloid, the college’s Film Society, flagged off its 3-day Independent Film Festival with the screening of ‘Freedom Song’ by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Subi Chaturvedi.
Initially released three years ago in 2012, this 52-minute long documentary focuses on the issue of the shrinking space for freedom of expression. That a couple years later, in the present , one of the co-filmmakers should himself be subjected to the very brand of censure this documentary had aimed to register its protest against is quite ironical and only reminds us that the journey is long. The documentary articulates its position by bringing to light some of the significant events of India’s recent past where freedom of expression hit rock-bottom, as well as, by providing a platform for the opinions of sundry eminent members of the civil society engaged with this issue. From the rather public exile of Maqbool Fida Hussain to the deeply internalised personal struggle of Ali Haider against a hostile society to pursue his career as a musician, from the ‘Ambedkar cartoon controversy’ to the brutal 2010 assault on Prof. T.J. Joseph where fanatics severed his right hand at the wrist for framing an examination question “hurtful towards religious sentiments”, the documentary catalogues an eclectic list of people and events to keep the discussion alive.
The venue of the movie screenings, spanned across three days, is to be the college Auditorium. To be sure, the turnout for the event had all the aura of an Indie film fest (read: abysmally low turnout!), which is more of a comment on the low publicity of the event. As a member of the film society, and a rather indolent kind at that, I am as much at fault. So, read this as an invitation to anyone with a valid student ID card and a curiosity for artistic movies and the issues they seek to address!
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