Screen Parzania for harmony and democracy
I mentioned earlier that Rahul Dholakia’s Parzania had been unofficially banned in Gujarat.
Delhi-based NGO, Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) have recently carried out an SMS/E-mail contest calling for the film to be screened in the state. The contest - which ran for 15 days - received a total 437 responses from across the state, of which only two were in support of the ban.
Shabnam Hasmi from ANHAD said, “Gujarat is showing signs of growing dictatorship, which is taking away citizens’ basic rights of expression.” A contest winner, Nayan Patel, a Jan Vikas activist, said, “It is not just an issue of freedom of speech but there is much more at stake and we need to fight it out before it gets too late.” He said Parzania is a movie which will make sensitive people realise their guilt.
He said, “Who are they to decide what I should watch or not? Gujarat is a part of democratic India and it is the Censor Board that decides.” He said it was sad that the Modi establishment did not make a single statement publicly on providing security cover to those who wanted to watch the movie.
Another winner, Sanita Xalxo, a second-year LLB student at Gujarat University, said, “When films related to riots and other communal issues can be screened in Mumbai then why not Gujarat.”
Based on a true story, Parzania is the story of a Parsi family caught helplessly in the communal crossfire of the 2002 Gujarat riots, and a young voice trying to make sense of all the insanity.
Tuesday 27 Mar 2007 | Paul | India
Anhad screened Parzania in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on April 9th to day on the ocassion of the inauguration of its resource Centre against Communalism . Anhad has committed to fdo 1000 screenings of Parzania in the coming eight months all over Gujarat.
That’s excellent news. Thanks for the update.