June 20, 2017
National Award-winning filmmaker Madhur
Bhandarkar, whose film "Indu Sarkar" is facing flak from the Congress,
says he admires Congress spokesperson Jyotiraditya Scindia but the
latter's remarks on the film and himself were unexpected.
"I wonder how could Jyotiraditya make such a remark without watching
the whole film? I admire him as an individual but this was not
expected. Just one trailer has come out whereas in the film I did not
mention any name of any politicians did I," Bhandarkar told IANS.
On Monday, Scindia said: "The organisation and the individual who is
behind the film is known to us. We totally condemn the false depictions
in the film."
The film has a political backdrop that captured the Emergency period of
India during the rule of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975.
Is the film based on any real life character, considering there is
physical similarity of Sanjay Gandhi and Indira Gandhi with the
character played by Neil Nitin Mukesh and Supriya Vinod?
"If you want to know about the story, it is 70 per cent fiction and 30
per cent of realism. The backdrop of the film is an emergency ... that
has happened ... that we all know. The audience should watch the film
in totality to understand the story. I did not put my own political
views in the film ... it is based on media reports during the time of
the Emergency," said Bhandarkar.
The filmmaker is known for bringing realism on the big screen with
films like "Page 3", "Chandni Bar" and "Fashion", among others.
"I am the person who is making a film that has shown the mirror to the
society that has been celebrated at the box office as well as by
critics and won the National Award. Do you think I will just randomly
make a film on Emergency? I did extensive research work before shooting
the film," he said.
On the other hand, CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani said in a report:
"Indu Sarkar does not name anyone. There is no mention of Mrs Indira
Gandhi or Sanjay Gandhi or anyone else in the trailer. You are only
presuming the film is about the people you mention because of the
physical resemblance. I didn't hear anyone's name mentioned in the
trailer. If they are mentioned in the film, we'll see. At the moment, I
am glad someone has made a film on the Emergency. It is a 'kaala
dhabba' (black spot) in our political history."
Asked if such comment from the CBFC gave him a boost of confidence?
Bhandarkar said:" Well, he has his logic to prove his point, but I am
saying the same thing, we did not mention any political party or
individual's name. Let's get the censor certificate and release the
film. Let the audience decide what the film is about and if it is a
biased take on any political incident."
The film is releasing on July 28.