The drama that is unfolding on the Padmavati front is disgusting, to say the least. The governments of various states seem to be least concerned about the orders of the apex court of the country, the Supreme Court. Even after the top court of the country came down heavily on ministers and states who and which had spoken against the controversial film, and asked them to refrain from making comments which could prejudice the sole certifying authority – the Central Board of Film Certification – ministers and state governments have not mended their ways. Why, the Bihar government, in fact, put a ban on the controversial film of Sanjay Leela Bhansali after the verdict of the Supreme Court as above!
The parliamentary panel, looking into the Padmavati controversy, seems to have been constituted with the sole intention of humiliating Bhansali. It seems to be consisting of members who have absolutely no knowledge of the functioning of the film industry or even the laws of the land and the rules. The panel asked Bhansali how he had announced December 1 as the intended release date of Padmavati when the official application for certification was only made on 11th November. This is like seeking an answer from somebody for a change in policy by someone else. The panel should have done its homework before interrogating the filmmaker. Had they done that, they would have known that the practice of announcing a release date before certifying one’s film has been in vogue since ages. Why should Bhansali have acted differently? The parliamentary panel should have known better than anybody else that the time gap (between 11th November and 1st December) was considered very normal for a film to be certified. If the CBFC, all of a sudden, decided to invoke the rule of 68 days between the date of application and the date of certification, it surely cannot be Bhansali’s fault. Is the panel even aware that the film industry is convinced, this rule was brought into play only and only so that the release of Padmavati could be stalled? Shouldn’t a fair panel actually haul up the CBFC for invoking the rule without notice and so suddenly? But no, the panel won’t do that!
CBFC chairman Prasoon Joshi appeared before the petition committee which also took up Padmavati for discussion. Interestingly, both, the parliamentary panel and the petition committee, are chaired by BJP leaders. So much for impartiality! It doesn’t need to be emphasised that the BJP’s open support to the Rajput Karni Sena, which is at the forefront in demanding a ban on the film, is to garner the support of the Rajputs in the forthcoming assembly elections in various states. Anyway, the petition committee asked the CBFC chief how the producers of Padmavati had sent the film for certification to the UK when it had not been certified in India. If only the petition committee had done a little bit of research on the subject, it wouldn’t have been left red-faced (or was it?) by the CBFC chief’s reply to its silly question. Prasoon Joshi had to tell the committee that the two were independent processes.
The parliamentary panel is also alleged to have asked Bhansali whether he had selectively screened the film to the media with the intention of influencing the CBFC. Fantastic! Phenomenal! Wonderful! What a brilliant question was that!! If Bhansali had screened the film to three media persons with the aim of influencing the CBFC, what were the ministers and chief ministers of various states, and the Rajput Karni Sena doing by loudly announcing from every single platform available that they would not allow the film to be released. The panel ought to have applied its mind that Bhansali’s act of screening the controversial film could have backfired if any or all of the three media persons had reviewed the film unflatteringly. In that sense, Sanjay Leela Bhansali took a huge risk in screening his magnum opus when it wasn’t even clear whether his film would publicly release on December 1 or days or weeks or months thereafter. But yet, the panel wanted to know if his intent was to influence the CBFC. Three media persons, the panel, perhaps, felt, could sway the CBFC in favour of the film but all the Rajput Karni Sena members and the many BJP ministers condemning the film in the worst possible manner could not influence the CBFC in any way!
Aren’t we so very proud of the parliamentary panel and the petition committee? Forget distortion of history by Bhansali, what kind of history are some people writing for the generations to come?