National-award winning film Court had to undergo two snips before being passed by censors for its theatrical release in India, director Chaitanya Tamhane said.
"It is ironical that in a movie which has freedom of expression as a key theme, we have had to face censorship. We were given a choice to cut or to go mute. Editing out anything was out of question.. so we chose to mute," Tamhane told PTI ahead of the film's commercial release on April 17.
One mute pertains to usage of a commonly-used phrase, while second one is an entire sentence. However, the flow of the narrative employing four languages--Marathi, Gujarati, English and Hindi--does not get compromised through the actions, said the 28-year-old director, whose debut film is getting rave global reviews.
Since its premiere at the prestigious Venice Film Festival last September, the courtroom drama has won 18 international awards, including the Lion of the Future Award for the best first feature at the Italian fest.
The National award for Best Film, announced earlier this month, is the latest feather in Tamhane's cap.
The film revolves around a case of abetment of suicide filed against a 'Lok Shahir' or a ballad singer in a lower court in Mumbai involving legal action against him including those under the controversial UAPA (the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act).
The action against activist ballad singers from the Kabir Kala Manch on allegations of links with the Left wing extremists, while the movie was in the scripting stage, inspired the narrative, Tamhane said.
Watching award-winning documentary maker Anand Patwardhan's Jai Bhim Comrade was also educative, the first-timer said.
Tamhane touches on various facets, including the way lower courts function, the people who make the system and also makes a strong commentary on contemporary social issues like conditions of sanitary workers and the undying spirit of the activist-ballad singer.
