It’s not censorship but the process of fighting it that scares Anurag
You can’t just give up at the first level — you have to go through many levels, the executive and revising committees, the tribunal, and maybe even all the way to SC. ANURAG KASHYAP FILMMAKER
Anurag Kashyap, who is known for courting controversy with his films and unabashed statements, recently directed one of the four stories in the anthology, Lust Stories. He’s among the growing number of filmmakers to toy with the digital medium that’s being hailed for good content without unnecessary censorship.
Kashyap, who had run-ins with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for his films, Paanch (2003), Black Friday (2007), and Gulaal (2009), was asked about political films, and why their number is small. He says that a political movie faces obstructions such as censorship cuts, bans and protests from political groups, making it a tedious process for filmmakers to pursue.
“It’s not that if I wanted to make political cinema, I would not do it because of the fear for censorship, but it’s the process of fighting it which scares me... You can’t just give up at the first level — you have to go through the executive committee, the revising committee, the tribunal, and maybe even all the way to the Supreme Court in the end,” adds the filmmaker. Kashyap, however, acknowledged that this was not the case in India alone.