You May Not See This Modi Vs Kejriwal Fight!

During the prelude to the Lok Sabha elections last year, filmmaker Kamal Swaroop (best-known for Om Dar Ba Dar) parked himself with his crew in Benares which was a hotbed of political volatility at that time. With Narendra Modi (the then BJP Prime Ministerial candidate) contesting the elections against politics' enfant terrible Arvind Kejriwal from the Eternal City, the documentary, titled Battle for Benares, intended to capture the lead up to the elections (and its eventual outcome) that Kamal said would "determine India's destiny."

However, when it was screened for the Central Board of Film Certification's Examining Committee yesterday, the Board was aghast and refused a certificate to the film. They wouldn't even recommend cuts, as is the usual process, saying the film couldn't be exhibited at all.

The film is inspired by Elias Canetti's book Crowds and Power and according to Kamal, doesn't take a political stand. "It is politically neutral and captures the mood in the town at that point in time. It's a shallow film as the people it inhabits are shallow and saying the same things all over again. They look like cartoons, all of them! You could replace what Modi is saying with Kejriwal's voice and it won't make any difference," Kamal told SpotboyE.com.

So what exactly did the Board find objectionable? Swaroop replied, "There are sequences where people say that Modi couldn't take care of his own wife, how would he take the responsibility of a nation? But this has been in the media already. I didn't make it pro any political party."

When we probed him further, he said, "This government is paranoid and it is projecting its fears on filmmakers. When you are in the moment, it is one thing--- but when you watch it in a film you see the picture holistically, and I don't think that the political parties like that face. It makes them look stupid and dumb. But I don't understand why my film shouldn't be shown," he groused.

Is he going to the Tribunal now? "We will fight it out and do whatever it takes. The film is not a scathing commentary on any political outfit. So why should they ban it?"

Two members of the Censor Board independently confirmed the development on request of anonymity, but refused to comment on the story.

Board chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani, who has been under the fire for his alleged high-handedness, remained unavailable for comment.