A handful of people can’t decide what nation wants to see: Nandita Das on censoring films

Agencies
January 27, 2018

Jaipur, Jan 27: The concept of censoring films by a board is "faulty", says noted actor-filmmaker Nandita Das, asserting that a handful of people cannot decide what an entire nation wants to see.

The 48-year-old film personality said it was very "dangerous" that some self-proclaimed custodians of culture were telling people what was right and wrong.

"Larger censorship issues are coming up now. If art has to flourish, it needs freedom. The whole concept of a censor board and to censor films in itself is faulty. How can a handful of people decide what all of us as a nation want to see?," she said at the Jaipur Literature festival here yesterday.

"They are actually undermining the audience. They are belittling you (audience) by saying that we know what you should watch and should not watch. If we are not going to fight for our freedom, who will?" she asked.

Speaking from the packed Front Lawns of the iconic Diggi Palace, the award-winning artist spoke at length about her upcoming film on celebrated writer, Saadat Hasan Manto. The lead actor of the film Nawazuddin Siddiqui was also in attendance.

Das said she chose Manto as a subject for her film not because of his religion or nationality, but for what the writer stood for.

"Manto defined himself as a human being beyond the identities of nationalism and religion. He was a big champion of free speech and fought many battles. He was tried for obscenity six times. He wrote stories that were raw and truthful. He had deep conviction and that gave him a lot of courage.

"He is so relevant today and his work is the best way to respond to contemporary times. That is why, I felt Manto was the right person to talk about in my film," she said.

Das, though, admitted that she would never make a period film again because it became extremely difficult to recreate a previous period due to the "clutter" that sets in with passage of time, which eventually spoils everything.

The filmmaker said she found similarities between Manto and Nawazuddin's anger, sense of humour and arrogance, while revealing that the actor had not charged a dime for the film.

Asked about which historical character he would like to play, Nawazuddin said he would love to portray Dilip Kumar's character in the iconic film "Mughal-e-Azam".

"I would definitely love to do it. My personality is often underestimated. People think I am good at doing roles of a gangster only, but I can do 'royal-type' roles too. I find them interesting," he said.

Opening up about his role in "Manto", Nawazuddin said, "The biggest difficulty in playing Manto was being a truthful person. I speak a lot of lies, was polluted and had to purify myself before playing the titular role".

The actor said his upbringing in a secular set up was the reason for his sound understanding of Hinduism.

He said the commercial aspect of a film has prompted him to dance, something he otherwise would never imagine of doing.

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Agencies
February 26,2020

Unnao, Feb 26: Ever heard of someone wishing a 'bright future' for the dead? In a bizarre incident in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, a village head issued a death certificate with the wish for an elderly man who had died last month.

The incident took place in the Sirwariya village in Asoha block where an elderly person Laxmi Shankar died after a prolonged illness on January 22.

His son went to the village head Babulal and requested him to issue a death certificate that he needed for some financial transactions.

Babulal not only issued the death certificate, but also 'wished' 'a bright future for the deceased' on the document.

The village head wrote in the death certificate -- "Main inke ujjwal bhavishya ki kaamna karta hoon (I wish him a bright future)."

The letter went viral on the social media on Monday after which the village head apologised for the error and issued a new death certificate.

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News Network
July 11,2020

Geneva, Jul 11: The World Health Organization said Friday that it is still possible to bring coronavirus outbreaks under control, even though case numbers have more than doubled in the past six weeks.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the examples of Italy, Spain, South Korea and India's biggest slum showed that however bad a outbreak was, the virus could still be reined in through aggressive action.

"In the last six weeks cases have more than doubled," Tedros told a virtual press conference in Geneva.

However, "there are many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control," said Tedros.

"And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi -- a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai -- a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus."

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 555,000 people worldwide since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Friday.

Nearly 12.3 million cases have been registered in 196 countries and territories.

"Across all walks of life, we are all being tested to the limit," Tedros said, "from countries where there is exponential growth, to places that are loosening restrictions and now starting to see cases rise.

"Only aggressive action combined with national unity and global solidarity can turn this pandemic around."

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News Network
July 14,2020

Jaipur, Jul 14: In a show of strength, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot-led Rajasthan Congress camp on Monday released a video showing at least 16 MLAs sitting together.

This comes hours after the Congress held a legislature party meeting. Party leaders said 106 of 122 MLAs attended, a claim contested by the Pilot camp.

The 10-second video was shared late at night on Pilot's official WhatsApp group.

In the video, at least 16 MLAs are seen sitting together in a close circle. Pilot is not seen in the video.

Six other people can be seen in the video but they could not be identified.

Some of the MLAs seen in the video are Indraraj Gurjar, Mukesh Bhakar, Harish Meena.

Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh tweeted the video with the caption "Family".

Ladnun MLA Mukesh Bhakar tweeted, "...Loyalty in Congress means Ashok Gehlot's slavery. That is not acceptable to us."

Pilot has been upset since he was denied the Rajasthan chief minister's post after the December 2018 assembly elections.

On Sunday, he claimed to have the backing of 30 Congress MLAs and "some independents".

Those close to him disputed Gehlot's claim that his government had a majority, and said this is proven in the assembly and not at the CM's house.

Sources close to him have also ruled out the possibility of Pilot joining the BJP.

In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs and the BJP 72. In the past, the ruling party has claimed the support of 13 independents, two MLAs each from the CPM and the Bharatiya Tribal Party, and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

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