Bengali film screening cancelled, sit-in protest planned

Kolkata, Feb 17: A day after the screening of his film "Bhobishyoter Bhoot" was cancelled, director Anik Dutta on Sunday said he was yet to get any "official communication" though people have offered support and asked him to join a sit-in protest.

"Still, I haven't got any official communication' regarding the cancellation, all they said was that the instructions were from higher authorities. But I have received immense support and the film fraternity has shown great solidarity," Dutta said.

The film, released on Friday, is a comedy that explores the current political scenario. On Saturday, it was taken off from almost all multiplexes and single screen theatres in West Bengal for "political reasons".

Dutta mentioned that various groups have planned to organise a sit-in protest at Metro Y Channel on Sunday for upholding the democratic rights.

"I have been invited by them. Senior film personalities like Soumitra Chatterjee will send their support via letters."

Asked if they would face a problem with the venue, he said: "The organisers will seek permission, if given fine else we will move. We will not be aggressive in any way and also the Chief Minister sat there on a protest few days back."

Earlier, the Mamata Banerjee-led government had imposed a ban on protests at the Metro Y Channel citing traffic disruption. But on February 1, she held a 45-hour sit-in at the Metro Y Channel following a face-off between the city police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Dutta had approached a multiplex-chain in a city-based mall on Saturday where they said that the "film cannot be shown".

Expressing shock and dissatisfaction Dutta had earlier said: "The screening has been stopped even after the film was passed by the censor board without any major cuts. The hall owners are responsible for running the film and I seek an answer from the ones who have given them instructions."

"This film criticises all political parties without taking any name, then how can there be any issue of intolerance. We want to know what is the exact problem," said critically acclaimed actor Kaushik Sen, who features in the film.

Dutta is known for his 2012 blockbuster film "Bhooter Bhabishyat". The current release is not a sequel and the only similarity is that both are ghost films of the satiric genre.