India is plagued by a growing divide between political and civil society. It is poisoning mostly the world of culture and is maiming the right of the people to choose their own kind of entertainment. Literature and cinema are the major victims of such cultural terrorism. Salman Rushdie, the controversial novelist has called the situation “cultural emergency”. But in the eye of the storm at present is a film, ‘Vishwaroopam’, made by Kamal Haasan. Release of his film has been stalled in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka though he thinks it is a harmless thriller. The reason this has happened is that the film, though made by a Muslim, is likely to inflame communal passions among the minority community. Haasan’s film has been taken off the theatres in these two states though it was cleared by the Censor Board.
This runs counter to the Supreme Court’s clear directive that films passed by the Censor Board of Film Certification should not be subjected to further censorship in a state. This is not the first time the directive has been flouted. ‘Aarakshan’ was also banned in U.P. and Punjab. Faana and Parzania were banned in Gujarat. Cultural intolerance has also emerged in a surreptitious form in West Bengal. Haasan, a veteran of the Indian film world has made it clear that his film is not anti-Muslim. There is nothing in it which can be seen as a threat to communal harmony.
There may be something to be said in favour of clamping down on films which may hurt religious sensitivity. An American film on Islam led to a spate of violence in not only Arab countries but also in Sri Lanka with ripples in India. That film should have been banned by the US government. Rajiv Gandhi banned Salman Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’. One cannot dismiss the view that a few Muslim writers cash in on controversy by attacking Islam thinking their being Muslim gives them immunity. Kamal Haasan’s film merits thorough screening.