'The Kerala Story’ not the first one, these films also faced trouble in West Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday ordered an immediate ban on the screening of the controversial film 'The Kerala Story' in the state in order to avoid "any incident of hatred and violence". The decision led to political discourse and created a vertical split on social media as well. However, the Sudipto Sen-directed film is not the first film to face trouble in Bengal. Over the years, a number of films faced protests, bans, and even political unrest in the City of Joy. Take a look…

'The Kerala Story' ban in West Bengal: What we know so far

On May 8, Mamata Banerjee’s government imposed a ban on The Kerala Story across Bengal, arguing that it might create unrest. Bengal became the first state to ban the film. The West Bengal government’s order to withdraw the movie stated, “To avoid any incident of hatred and violence and to maintain peace in the state, the chief minister has directed an immediate ban on screening of The Kerala Story. Action will be taken against any cinema hall that violates the ban.” Mamata Banerjee also alleged that ‘The Kerala Story’ is a distorted movie aimed at defaming the southern state.

In 2019, the screenings of this Anik Dutta-directed film were canceled the day after its premiere, after orders from “higher authorities” in the state. Many strongly criticized the ban, including late actor Soumitra Chatterjee at that time. Bhobishyoter Bhoot is a black comedy with political overtones completely absent in the earlier film ‘Bhooter Bhobishyot’. Dutta mocked political parties and ideologies across the board – from the cow politics of the BJP and the RSS, to the Marxism of the Left Front in Bengal, to radical Islam. The most hard-hitting digs, however, were reserved for the Trinamool Congress, the ruling party of the state.

Based on Nabarun Bhattacharya's novel by the same name, Suman Mukhopadhyay directed ‘Herbert’ is the story of a man who believes that he can talk to the dead. He convinces others too of the same and makes a living out of making predictions based on his conversations with the dead. Soon his luck runs out, forcing him to commit suicide, but his wrath doesn't end there. The plot follows the trajectory of the inquiry, flashbacking into the hidden corners of Herbert’s lonely growing up years as an alienated orphan, his ill-treatment at the hands of his cruel cousin Dhanna, his only tragi-comic love affair, his unwitting involvement with the underground Maoist Naxalbari movement during the turbulent seventies. This 2006 film was also banned because of its political overtone.

The Bengali film, directed by Q and set in Kolkata, was a rap musical which created a lot of noise for its frontal nudity scenes and abusive language. The movie was shot in the white and black format, and it was banned because it defied Indian sensibilities. Despite being the official selection at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival, it had no takers in India. Despite receiving accolades at various international film festivals, the film is known for courting controversy. The explicit scenes and adult content in the film reportedly led to audience walkouts at some screenings.

The regional body of the Central Board of Film Certification refused to pass Suman Mukhopadhyay’s film ‘Kangal Malsat’ in 2013. The letter of refusal cited unnecessary use of abusive language, sexuality, a casual approach to portraying social movements that may hurt sentiments and a distortion of history. Commenting on the ban, the filmmaker had stated that ‘Kangal Malsat’ is about the rebellion of the poor against the Left in West Bengal; against the Left's focus on industry, on urban infrastructure like flyovers and malls. Only the last seven to ten minutes of the film focused on the Trinamool Congress government that replaced the Left in the state.

The show cancellation of 'The Accidental Prime Minister' in Kolkata has brought back memories of numerous cultural and political protests against cinema screening in this city. A group of West Bengal Congress activists allegedly interrupted the screening of the film and resorted to vandalism at a posh Kolkata multiplex, while the film, based on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tenure, faced agitation across the city. The activists allegedly threatened the viewers to immediately leave the auditorium and claimed they would not allow the film to be screened anywhere as its content is “disrespectful” towards the senior party leaders.

Along with other cities, Kolkata too saw protests over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 'Padmaavat' in 2018. Some fringe groups in the city claimed that the film disrespected Indian culture. Approximately 250 protesters had come to the Navina theatre and asked the authorities to take down the banner of the film. After some altercation, the owner decided to call the cops. He also filed a police complaint. Subsequently, cops had to be posted in the lobby to ensure security of the viewers.

The Kaushik Ganguly film starring Rituparno Ghosh wasn’t screened at Nandan in 2010. That was despite the film having a valid censor certificate. "In spite of the film getting a Silver Peacock and rare selection at the Berlin International Film Festival panorama, the then CEO of Nandan had asked for a preview of the film. I don’t have a problem sending a preview copy to Nandan. But the approach of asking me for it was wrong. I couldn’t agree with the usage of terms like ‘ultopalta kichhu ache kina dekhe nite chai’ hurt my pride. Our film was certified and there was no reason to have such a re-censor. We refused to submit the preview copy. Our film wasn’t screened at Nandan,” Kaushik said during an interview.

Kamal Haasan’s 'Hey Ram' was at the center of attack in 2000. The objection in Kolkata was against the unsavory comments about Gandhi. There were people who took strong objections to Rani Mukerji reciting lines from Jibanananda Das’ “Akashe jyotsna/ Phuler pathe chita baagher gayer karam…” in the backdrop of an intimate lovemaking scene.

When Deepa Mehta’s 1998 film 'Fire' applied to the Central Board of Film Certification, not a single cut was recommended. However, that didn’t satisfy the protesters who didn’t like the homosexual content of this Shabana Azmi-Nandita Das film. There were protests in Mumbai and Delhi. In Kolkata, the film was released in two theatres. One was Chaplin and the other was Navina. The hall owners had to get police protection for screening the film. At Chaplin, stronger protests had taken place outside the theatre. However, the screening had continued.

Mani Ratnam’s 'Bombay' — the 1995 film about a Hindu-Muslim marriage set against the backdrop of frenzied rioting — was in the middle of a storm in Kolkata. Along with protests in other parts of India, there was fear of Kolkata too being intolerant of the film. There were apprehensions of violence during the screening of Bombay. People were afraid that the film might trigger communal riots. Cops were also posted outside Priya Cinema. However, no untoward incident happened.

When Roland Joffe decided to adapt Dominique Lapierre’s novel titled City of Joy, he met with sharp criticism in Kolkata. Many objected to the film for selling poverty and peddling “social pornography”. Political bigwigs objected to what they saw as an attempt to portray the racist viewpoint of the whites who were projected as the only saviors concerned about the misery of the locals. There were street demonstrations, angry condemnations, and even a firebomb attack on the set. One death was also reported when a journalist went to cover an on-location shoot in the Horticultural Gardens. Initially, there was an order to ban the shooting on location. However, the Calcutta High Court lifted the ban and the unit finally resumed shooting at the Mir Bahar Ghat. However, the film was never screened in Kolkata theatres.

Not just Ray, Ritwik Ghatak too was not spared from the wrath of the viewers. In 1961, his Komal Gandhar had released at Purna. A dogmatic section of the undivided communist party of India allegedly created problems during the screening. Pebbles were hurled at the screen. The chairs were broken. Ghatak’s wife, Surama, had mentioned that a few had even tried to torch the screen. The film was withdrawn from the theatres.

The Satyajit Ray film faced so much protest in north Kolkata that it was very difficult to screen it for the masses. In the film, the transformation of the graffiti from capped Mao Tse Tung portrait to one of Indira Gandhi indicating degeneration didn’t go down well with the Congress. The student leaders objected to its screening. Finally, the then chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray had to make an appeal asking people to allow the movie to be screened in Kolkata.