‘Anti-govt’ Bengal film screening stopped

KOLKATA: The decision by a theatre run by Kolkata Municipal Corporation to stop Saturday’s scheduled screening of a just-released movie that alluded to the now infamous Park Street rape has got tongues wagging about CM Mamata Banerjee’s intolerance.
Soon after the rape of a woman, described by cops as dissolute, comments by a ruling party leader about woman staying out late, had triggered a controversy about the attitude of the Trinamool towards women.
Now the surprise move by the Star Theatre to stop screening Agnidev Chatterjee’s '3 Kanya’ has critics seeing a link between the two. Pre-release TV promos had played up a dialogue from the film — "Is it okay for a prostitute to be raped?"
"At the very last minute a Star spokesman said there’s pressure from higher ups not to show the film that is anti-government," the director said. Starring two National Award winning Tollywood actors, Rituparna Sengupta, Ananya Chatterjee and Unnati Davra from Bollywood. Unnati plays a daring police inspector, Ananya a rape victim and Rituparna a reporter in a TV channel.
State education minister Bratya Basu plays a cameo in the film. "There can’t be any film for or against the government in this country. I am yet to know the details," Basu said.
The movie had built up expectations of celluloid exploration of the Park Street Rape case and the subsequent transfer of joint commissioner of police (crime) Damayanti Sen. The movie opens with three men picking up a girl from a nightclub and then raping her.
The makers denied the film is based on the Park Street rape. "Is that the only instance of rape?" the director asked TOI. He confirmed, "Star is the only contracted theatre not playing the film that is doing good business in 50 other halls."
Ranjan Ganguly of Artage, which manages Star’s affairs since the exit of Priya Entertainment, called it a coordination gap. "Under the new dispensation, we are committed to stage plays every Thursday and Saturday. Friday, too, was booked for a homage to Tagore," he said. "It might be screened from Sunday," he said.
State home secretary Basudeb Banerjee said the government had no control on Star Theatre. "It is not a government hall, but owned by the KMC and it has been given on lease to a private party. It is their discretion which film they will screen. The government has no desire to ban any film. It is being said that the government has banned it. It is totally baseless. The government has not interfered in any way," Banerjee said.