Battle against censorship
Rakesh Sharma — Pic. by Sampath Kumar G. P.
RAKESH SHARMA'S internationally acclaimed epic documentary, "Final Solution," made it to the Films for Freedom festival in Bangalore. The film was rejected by the Mumbai International Film festival (MIFF) last year, since it did not have a censor certificate. International films screening at the same festival did not require one. Those filmmakers rejected by MIFF, as well as some others, all upholding the right to freedom of expression, screened their films at Vikalp, a parallel festival held across the road. Vikalp encouraged debate and discussion of the often sensitive subjects discussed in the films, and allowed audiences to judge for themselves the quality of the work they viewed. Rakesh has since been deeply involved with the battle against censorship, especially when it seeks to curb politically uncomfortable subjects. In Bangalore to screen "Final Solution" to diverse audiences, he talks to Hemangini Gupta about the film and its politics.
Here are excerpts:
Why did you set out to make "Final Solution?"
For a variety of reasons. When I read about Gujarat and saw the first images on television, I was personally horrified, but also I felt like it was a turning point in our political history. This was virtually the first time the State was involved in violence of this kind. Such a thing had erupted in 1984 too but was contained in four-five days — certainly not the case of a brazen government trying to justify and deny everything. In Gujarat, that's exactly what one was getting to hear. The State's role was shocking.
Mumbai riots
In 1992-93 during the Mumbai riots, I was living in Mumbai and decided I could not just remain a filmmaker. I would have to intervene in a more direct manner. So I worked at a rehabilitation camp in one of the worse affected areas, Jogeshwari. I had seen from close quarters what violence does to common man. At the end of the day these are political games, and every little move destroys lives and alters their universes forever. So when Gujarat was unfolding, a lot of what transpired during the Mumbai riots came back to me, and I felt compelled to document that experience.
What's the significance of "Final Solution" as a title?
The term itself is inspired by the extermination of Jews — the final solution to the Jewish problem. I am arguing that there is a certain political tendency we're witnessing, which is comparable to what happened in Germany from the early to the mid-1930s, namely the voluntary ghettos in smaller cities and villages in Gujarat. There is segregation in schools and colleges. In Don Bosco, about 350-400 Muslim students were asked to leave their schools and they are now studying in their own ghetto, in a school called the National School.
What is the importance of anger for you as filmmaker?
I would not say anger. I would use the word agitation. When something agitates you deeply, it also motivates you to work much harder. This hasn't been an easy film to shoot. The media was attacked... in that environment going in was tremendously difficult and so it was for me. The opening sequence of the film itself shows a mob chasing someone; they were chasing me. They smash a car; it was my car; we were tailed by the Special Branch. When we were surrounded by 60 gun-toting policemen outside a small village at midnight, it made me very angry, and it only spurred me on.
What kind of impact do you think the Gujarat episode had on the general election?
It affected not just the votes in Gujarat but had repercussions across India. Not just in the minority community.
Can you tell us about what the process of making "Final Solution" has been like, personally?
I came face to face with many deeply affected people, and this brought back echoes of 1992-93, when I covered riots in Meerut and Muzzafarnagar. Despite that, it was hard to forget Madina and Bilkis Bano. The process of closure is what I'm doing now, interacting with diverse parts of society and saying that we can't form a robust society built on politics of hate and intolerance.
Can you tell us about "Final Solution" and the problems it has run into with censorship?
Well the law of the land is that I need a censor certificate to take the film out in the public realm, so I applied formally in April, and have been getting show cause notices from the censor board, saying how can you show your film abroad and how can you have press screenings. I've responded saying these are frivolous and mal fide notices because the Cinematography Act doesn't have jurisdiction outside India's boundaries. By refusing to even slot my film for preview they were basically trying to bury the film. That's what I was getting very vocal about.
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