Violence disrupts Kashmiri Film Festival in Hyd

Organisers of the Kashmiri Film Festival, which was slated to be held in Hyderabad from September 7 to 12, now plan to call off the fest as they came under attack by certain groups who called the event ���anti-national���.
The inauguration ceremony of the muchawaited Kashmir Film Festival, Kashmir Before Our Eyes, came to an abrupt halt on Saturday afternoon when around 30 protestors barged in to the venue, vandalising the property and attacking those present.Within minutes, the Prasad Film Labs resembled a riot scene, as the mob pelted stones, broke chairs, even as they shouted slogan with one protestor running away with a filmmaker���s laptop. All this because they felt the festival is ���anti-national���.
Surprisingly, the festival organisers had an inkling of trouble brewing, but they did not anticipate what transpired.
���A few days ago, Prasad Labs received a five-page letter which threathened of dire consequences if the festival was not called off. The letter was signed off by a person named Rahul Razdhan, claiming to be a Microsoft employee and a right wing activist. His main grouse was that some films screened at the fest were anti-Indian and that they sympathised with terrorists and anti-nationals,��� said Dr Subhadra Jalali, chief organiser of the film festival.
Apart from Prasad Labs, the letter was addressed to the Governor as well as Annapurna Studios. ���The protestors had singled out the film Jashn-e-Azadi, by Sanjay Kak. Though we didn���t think it necessary to lodge a formal police complaint,we did inform the police of this threat,��� informs Dr Jalali. Subsequently, a police van with two constables was sent to the venue, but clearly that wasn���t enough to control a 30 member- strong violent mob. ���It was a five-page letter which said that a couple of movies were ���anti- Indian��� and they don���t show the Hindu migrants��� point of view, but instead, sympathise with terrorists and anti-nationals,��� said Dr Jalali.
Interestingly, the story of the techie Rahul,who had allegedly sent the threathening letter, takes another bizarre turn. Festival organisers claim that he had initially written to them, requesting that he wanted to be part of the festival. Filmmaker Ajay Raina, one of the curators of the fest,whose laptop was taken away by the protestors, claims Rahul wanted to curate some films at the fest. ���Yes, Rahul wanted to curate some films. He had contacted us and in fact, had offered to bear the cost of the festival, including flying down filmmakers from various cities. But since we already had 12 movies,we had to refuse. It was after we turned him down that he had problems and threatened us.���
Calling the whole incident an act of ���goondagardi���, Sanjay Kak, director of the film Jashne- Azadi, said, ���What happened today is complete goondagardi. Apart from indulging in hooliganism, these protestors also went up to the control room and damaged some equipment. One of the staff tried to get back Ajay���s laptop, but he was beaten mercilessly. It is extremely dangerous and undemocratic. I think there is a growing inability to hear out anyone���s point of view other than your own. And every time someone attempts to tell an alternate story, it immediately comes under attack. If you have a problem with my film, you can argue with me, criticise my movie, but you cannot take away my democratic right.���
Speaking on his controversial film, Kak said, ���It���s not like the whole of Hyderabad has a problem with my movie. It���s only a handful of intolerant people. I have screened the film in Hyderabad in 2007, and there weren���t any issues at all.��� On learning of the incident, the cops rushed to the venue and took a few people, including Rahul Razdhan into custody. ���I wasn���t at the venue when the protestors barged in. But we���ve taken the accused Rahul and a few others into custody.We will interrogate them, and retrieve the laptop,��� said C Santhosham, area in-charge, Banjara Hills Police Station.
However, this assurance isn���t enough for the organisers. They are planning to call off the film festival, blaming it on ���lack of tolerance and awareness���. ���Right now, I feel the best thing to do is call off the film festival. The whole point of having this festival was to present and discuss various issues related to Kashmir. But if one film that shows a particular side of Kashmir cannot be screened, there will be a dent, a void,��� said Ajay.