Prakash Jha, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Alankrita Shrivastava on censorship, violence and making edgy cinema
Individually, they’re all disruptive.
Together, they represent a worldview that is at once multipolar and unified in its desire to break new ground.
Alankrita Shrivastava is the provocative, brave young writer-director of Lipstick Under My Burkha, and in Spotlight, we zoomed in on the mindscape and concerns from which her exploration of female sexuality and desire emerged. Joining her on stage after were two iconic filmmakers, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Prakash Jha, who together represent a brave world of filmmaking that immerses itself in real India, and in cinema that pushes the boundaries of our understanding even as it doesn’t abdicate its role as entertainment.
While their work speaks volumes, all three directors were reticent on stage – a reminder that there’s no formula for how the muse works and expresses itself.
Speaking about censorship, Rakeysh detailed how he and director Shyam Benegal and others have drafted an entirely new law for the government which replaces censoring with merely certification — but predictably this has been referred to a committee: Indian shorthand for eternal refrigeration.
Responding to this, Prakash struck an insightful note as he pointed out that the greatest danger to creativity was not the censor board but Indian society itself: which has become so quick to take offence, one can not criticise or name gods, castes, cities, political parties, Kishore Kumar or even Tagore!
For all its reticence, it’s an essential conversation for any democratic society, one which demands watching in its entirety.
Watch the full session here.
