November 21, 2017
A single bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed
that Malayalam film "S Durga" be screened at the ongoing 48th edition of the
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.
The bench gave the
verdict after the film's director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan approached the court
following the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's decision to pull out the
film from a IFFI jury-suggested list for the Indian Panorama section at the
gala.
The court directed that the certified copy of the film should be
screened at IFFI, one of the most prestigious film festivals of the country.
Sasidharan, who has been putting up a fight against the system, told IANS:
"I am so happy. This is the victory for cinema."
On Facebook, he wrote:
"I usually don't celebrate victories. But this I can't stay away. This is the
victory of cinema. This is the victory of our democracy. This is the victory of
those people from jury who sacrificed. Cheers India!"
The filmmaker is
currently in Brisbane for the 11th Asia Pacific Screen awards (APSA), where "S
Durga" -- previously titled "Sexy Durga" -- is in contention.
The
Malayalam film has been recognised internationally.
Expressing happiness
for "S Durga", popular Malayalam director Kamal, also the Chairman of the Kerala
State Chalachitra Academy, the state-owned body that organises the International
Film Festival of Kerala, said it was very strange that the film was pulled out.
"One fails to understand on why creativity has to face numerous stumbling
blocks after conceiving a film and then going through the shooting and post
production drills... To get it screened, one has to approach the court. This
does not augur well," said Kamal.