More than 100 citizens, together with activists, teachers, attorneys, film-makers, journalists and college students, of Ranchi, Jharkhand watched the movie Santoshbelow the open sky, close to Tagore Hill on May 2, 2025.
The public screening was organised by Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM) and the screening was adopted by an enlightening dialogue the place the viewers appreciated the movie for depicting the realities of police brutality, caste discrimination and institutional islamophobia.
The JJM accused that lately, there are clear indications of the Board functioning because the political arm of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) authorities.
“Movies that promote BJP and RSS’ ideology are passed without even a cut while others that show the realities of inequality, injustice and communalism are being censored. The viewers of Santosh screening condemned how the Certification board has become an ideological “Censorship” board,” JJM mentioned.
The citizens additionally expressed shock on why the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has denied the permission to launch it when the movie has been extensively acclaimed overseas.
There are reviews that the CBFC objected to quite a lot of scenes, primarily pertaining to police brutality and caste discrimination, and needed in depth cuts. This was not agreeable to the producers, in order that permission was denied.
The viewers additionally issued an open letter to CBFC Chairman Prasoon Joshi to instantly enable the discharge of the movie without any cuts. The open letter was signed by a number of famend personalities together with economist Jean Drèze and different members of JJM.
The letter talked about that it was ironic that whereas the Board routinely clears extraordinarily violent motion pictures, filled with gory scenes and sometimes watched by youngsters, it’s unable to digest the restrained however “factually correct depiction of police brutality in Santosh.”
“The attempt of the CBFC to hide the widespread caste discrimination and untouchability in Indian society also raises questions on its own casteist bias. Reliable sources have shared that the Board even objected to the use of the word “Dalit” in Santosh,”the letter mentioned,
The citizen additionally alleged that ut is a well known undeniable fact that movie trade itself is caste-ridden and a lot of the ‘heroes’ and heroines are from higher castes or have upper-caste names whereas Dalit and Adivasi actors are just about excluded.
“The stories tend to revolve around the cosy lives of the privileged whereas Dalit or Adivasi characters have subordinate roles if any. Their real lives are rarely portrayed with accuracy, empathy or appreciation. Santosh broke some of these patterns at least, it needed to be supported not suppressed but CBFC is in a denial modem,” the letter mentioned.
The individuals who watched the film mentioned that they’re at a loss to perceive, after watching the movie, what’s objectionable about it. On the opposite, they felt that this movie must be seen as extensively as attainable in India.
“Caste discrimination and untouchability are facts of life in India. Why should they remain hidden in a movie? Ugly as it is, the truth must be known. Even the Indian government has recently acknowledged the usefulness of learning about the realities of caste by means of a Caste Census,” the letter mentioned.
Published – May 04, 2025 10:02 pm IST
