‘Prasoon Joshi has not seen Satluj, but has problems with it’: Anurag Kashyap on film’s ban

Anurag Kashyap has been actively advocating against the recent ban on former collaborator Honey Trehan’s period investigative thriller Satluj. The film, starring Diljit Dosanjh, has been fighting a three-year censorship battle, the latest chapter of which is it being pulled down from streaming platform ZEE5 across the world within days of its release earlier this month.

Now, Kashyap has revealed what he gathere from a private conversation with Trehan — Prasoon Joshi, lyricist-screenwriter and the Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) hadn’t even watched the film before he objected to its release. “Honey says Prasoon Joshi had objections with the film. He hadn’t seen the film. I know, in other cases also, the chairman doesn’t see the film,” said Kashyap.

The filmmaker pointed out that in certain cases, the CBFC chief only acts on the basis of a report he gets from members of his Examining Committee. “On the basis of that report, an arbitrary decision can be made. So, the film has been arbitrarily withdrawn. When I last spoke to Honey, he hasn’t been given any clear reasons,” Kashyap said on stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.

“I did not get any calls from them. I had nothing to do. Neither my producers nor I got any calls. But Zee5 got a letter from the (I&B) Ministry to stop the film,” Trehan told The Indian Express recently. Despite not watching the film till that point at least, Prasoon Joshi demanded 127 cuts in Satluj, which was then titled Punjab ’95, including erasure of all references to Punjab. The makers were even “threatened” to withdraw their case against the CBFC in court just before they thought they were on the verge of winning.

Diljit Dosanjh’s Satluj was pulled down from ZEE5 within days of release.

Prasoon Joshi’s tenure

Prasoon Joshi was appointed as the CBFC chairperson in 2017, succeeding late producer Pahlaj Nihalani. Last year, The Indian Express reported that a number of film professionals said Prasoon Joshi, the longest-serving CBFC chairperson has involved only a select few members in the board’s activities in recent years.

“The range of censorship he is unleashing cannot always be explained in ideological or even political terms. So it is difficult to understand the source of his uncontested powers,” said a CBFC member, adding, “When Nihalani was removed, we thought it was the end of the ‘sanskaar raj’. But then Joshi’s board changed the title of Padamavati to Padmavat (2018).”

Kashyap also attested to Prasoon’s lack of involvement, recalling how Nihalani personally supervised all the cuts in his 2015 period crime drama Bombay Velvet. In fact, he even did that in the Revising Committee, although the CBFC chief isn’t allowed to sit in that committee. He also delayed the process for the makers to go to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), which has now been abolished.

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“If the body’s face is Prasoon Joshi, he hasn’t made any statements on all the films being stopped. At the end of the day, by removing FCAT, it’s a Kafka-esque thing,” argued Kashyap. “A government office is a Kafka-esque face. You can’t hold a single government office responsible because they’re following the guidelines and procedure,” he added, claiming that the guidelines keep changing keeping in mind the public sentiment.

Anurag Kashyap objects to ban on Satluj.

‘Law and order’ excuse

“When I watched Satluj, I found no problem. Why would the government object, because it’s from Congress’ time,” reasoned Kashyap. Satluj revolves around the abduction and murder of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who exposed over 2,500 estimated extrajudicial killings and cremations in Punjab of the 1990s, with the involvement of the state police.

After the film was pulled off ZEE5, the Centre formed a committee to review the situation. The said committee pointed out that Satluj can “threaten national security” by being exploited by “hostile elements” outside the country against the nation’s interests. However, like Trehan, Kashyap also believes that instead of dividing Punjab, the film is uniting the state.

Kashyap on Tuesday shared a screenshot on his Instagram Stories, which stated, “For the last 10 days, #Satluj has been screened across Punjab and beyond. Not a single unpleasant incident has been reported. People are organizing these screenings on their own. If telling the truth is seen as a threat to peace, perhaps it exposes the guilty conscience and your ‘nation’.”

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“They always give the ‘law and order’ issue. There’s no scope for violence. It’s a loophole that’s used as an excuse,” claimed Kashyap. “The most important film, for me, today is Satluj. Because the intention we had in Black Friday, I see that objectively in Satluj. If an honesty like that is possible, it’ll give a lot of strength to filmmakers,” he added.

“They say my film can harm the law and order situation in Punjab. On the contrary, my film has actually united Punjab,” Trehan told The Indian Express. “You go to Punjab and see, people are watching the movie together. They say my film is polarising society and dividing Hindus and Sikhs, but on the ground, the Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab are watching the movie together. It was not meant to provoke anybody.”

Also Read — Express Exclusive | Satluj director Honey Trehan: ‘Jaswant Singh Khalra being abducted again’

What is more harmful for the law and order of this country? My film that has united people, or hate speeches by the politicians aimed at dividing us? Propaganda movies are endorsed by the government. And even if you say my movie is a propaganda film, then let it be released like you released other propaganda films,” he added.