Madhur Bhandarkar: Will Not Show Indu Sarkar To Anybody Prior To Release

Reacting to Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam’s request of screening his upcoming film Indu Sarkar, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar has said he will not show the movie to anyone before release as it is not a documentary, but a work of fiction.

“I will not show Indu Sarkar to anybody. I have received letters from Sanjay Nirupam, Jagdish Tytler and and Priya Singh Paul who claims to be Sanjay Gandhi’s daughter. I am under a lot pressure. People are threatening me on social media platforms, saying that they will blacken my face. This is absolutely wrong,” Madhur told Bombay Times.

“I don’t understand the demand that they (the Congress) want to watch the movie before its release. Let my film get censor board clearance and the moment it is released in the theaters, you can go and watch the film,” Bhandarkar added.

Citing that he has been known for making movies, which are hard-hitting, real and topical, Bhandarkar has appealed other filmmakers and the public to side with him over the issue as this reeks of suppression of freedom of expression.

“My only appeal is that those who say that their should be freedom of expression in cinema, should come together, be it from any industry, because today it is happening with me, and tomorrow it will happen with someone else. There is no end to it. When there were issues during Anurag Kashayap’s Udta Punjab, I supported him. During Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, I was there. When there was an attack on Bhansali, I supported him and revolted that attacks on the filmmakers should not happen. And today they are posting on Twitter against me. This is totally wrong,” the filmmaker added.

“My movie is based on the story of a husband and a wife, who have contradictory opinion about the Emergency. It’s about the clash of points of view and the backdrop of the movie is the Emergency. My film is an emotional journey. I am concentrating on that thing and they are simply bullying a filmmaker by asking him to change something or the other,” he added.

Indu Sarkar is based on a 21-month long period, from 1975 to 1977, when the then prime minister Indira Gandhi unilaterally had a state of emergency declared across the country.

The trailer of the movie led the Congress party to ask the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for a review before it comes under the scanner. Sanjay Nirupam wrote to CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani, expressing the grand old party’s wish to watch the movie before it is ‘censored’. “The trailer of the film says it’s a film on Emergency and hence, we can see the likes of our beloved leaders like Indira Gandhi ji, Sanjay Gandhi ji and other senior leaders of the India National Congress. We, therefore, want to be certain that our leaders are not shown in bad light and hence, would like to see the film before it’s censored,” Nirupam said, in a letter addressed to Nihalani.

Few other political outfits have also expressed dismay over the movie, while some have taken to Twitter to threaten Bhandarkar against the movie’s release.

The movie is slated to release on July 28.

(With ANI inputs)