Madhur Bhandarkar On Indu Sarkar: Not Just RSS, Told To Cut Even Kishore Kumar

New Delhi: Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar has denounced the many edits ordered to his Emergency-themed movie Indu Sarkar as 'absurd' and denied that the film is propaganda. The National Award-winning director currently is fighting on several fronts to see his film release in its entirety later this month. The Central Board of Film Certification has demanded 14 cuts to Indu Sarkar, including references to the RSS, the Akali Dal and even singer Kishore Kumar. Speaking to NDTV, Mr Bhandarkar said he was 'appalled' by the Censor Board's edits. "What yardstick or parameters did they choose to say such things? I was really appalled by the kind of suggestions that were offered," Mr Bhandarkar said. He also said that he had been asked to remove the disclaimer at the start of his film which explains that Indu Sarkar is dedicated to the 'unsung heroes of the Emergency who restored democracy.'

Madhur Bhandarkar described the suggested cuts as 'absurd' and said he didn't know why the words and dialogues didn't pass muster. "What do I say for Kishore Kumar? Censor Board says, 'say Kishore, don't show Kishore Kumar.' It was absurd. I just laughed. How can I remove words like Akali? The Akalis, communists, RSS all fought against the Emergency. They want me to remove CBI, Intelligence Bureau and PM. They want me to remove Jai Prakash Zindabad! What is the harm in it? JP was a hero of the Emergency movement," he told NDTV.

The impending release of Indu Sarkar, in which the Emergency is seen through the eyes of a citizen played by actress Kirti Kulhari, has prompted protests from Congress leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia and a woman who claims to be the daughter of late politician Sanjay Gandhi. Madhu Bhandarkar said, "A lady has sent a legal notice. She says she is Sanjay Gandhi's daughter .She also says she wants to see the film. So I don't know how many fronts I am fighting. People who are burning my effigies and want to blacken my face, they should see the film in totality. By watching a three-minute trailer, they should not have a knee jerk reaction." Mr Bhandarkar also professed himself an 'admirer of people in every political party' and of Jyotiraditya Scindia in particular.
 

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Mr Bhandarkar, known for films like Fashion and Page 3, dismissed criticism that Indu Sarkar was 'propaganda' for the BJP. "If it's a propaganda film, I would have released it in 2019, before the general election, or released the movie three months ago when the Assembly elections in five states were happening. I'm releasing the film when in the next six months, no election is happening. It is absolutely nothing like propaganda," he said.

"I am a creative filmmaker, people should not play politics with me," Madhur Bhandarkar told NDTV, adding that Doordarshan's five-part documentary on the Emergency should be taken down from YouTube before censoring Indu Sarkar. Mr Bhandarkar has already tweeted about taking his film to the Revising Committee - he told NDTV that he will use every 'remedy' available to him to ensure his film releases intact, including approaching the High Court if needed.

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Indu Sarkar, which stars actress Supriya Vinod as Indira Gandhi and Neil Nitin Mukesh as Sanjay Gandhi, is scheduled to release on July 28.