By Our Special Correspondent
Shillong: Red is a colour associated with revolution. Red is the colour of blood. No wonder the state sees red at the idea of a film named Red Ant Dream
Red Ant Dream was slated to be screened at the Indie8 film festival cum workshop organized by the Mass Communication Department, St Anthony’s College on August 3. But out of the blue the organisers informed Tarun Bhartiya, editor and co-writer of the film directed by noted documentary film maker, Sanjay Kak that the Police wanted to vet the film before it is screened without assigning any reasons.
Of the several films listed to be screened between Aug 1-3, Red Ant Dream is the only one that has been censored by the state police.
When contacted, Tarun Bhartiya said he received a letter from the SP East Khasi Hills stating that the film has a radical message based as it is on resistance movements across the country from the Punjab movement to the Maoist revolt in Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, parts of Maharastra and Andhra Pradesh.
Sanjay Kak is scheduled to arrive in Shillong on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Tarun Bhartiya organized a private viewing of the film at his residence. When asked if he had submitted the film to the State Police for their vetting as required by them, Bhartiya said he saw no reason why the state should police film makers and inhibit their creative expression.
“I was told that some respected NGO leader had called them for banning the film on the plea that it could provoke young people to become belligerent,” Bhartiya alleged.
The letter sent by the SP, East Khasi Hills says that in view of reports that Red Ant Dream is a narrative of resistance movements in the country and its language is highly suggestive of rebellion and because Meghalaya is afflicted by militancy, the Police felt it might not be appropriate to screen the film for viewing by young people.
Several free thinkers in Meghalaya have questioned this arbitrary decision to ban Red Ant Dream. They are of the view that Meghalaya is not a police state and people possess enough acumen to watch a film without being unduly influenced by it. “The state cannot control what people think or what messages they take back from a film. Banning of a documentary that is meant to trigger debates on growing state authoritarianism has serious ramifications for democracy,” an academician said.
Bhartiya informed that IIM Shillong had earlier wanted to screen the film in their campus but backed out at the last moment perhaps because of the controversy. “So much about free thinking in an elite Institute,” observed a person who viewed the film on Wednesday.