Govt has to back filmmakers, or else they will start committing suicide like farmers: ‘Muzzaffarnagar’ director
‘Muzaffarnagar: The Burning Love’ director Harish Kumar says his film is facing problems over its release in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. He feels that if such cases go on, then filmmakers will also start committing suicide like farmers.
‘Muzaffarnagar: The Burning Love’, which is based on the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, is slated for release on November 17.
“A farmer without rain and government support is forced to commit suicide. Exactly the same thing is happening in the film industry with filmmakers. No one had any issues during the filming or censor clearance or during the promotion,” Kumar told IANS.
“But when it is time for the film to release, anti-social elements have come forward to suppress creative media. There is no other option for filmmakers but to commit suicide. I feel like doing the same,” Kumar added.
Giving example of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmavati’, Kumar said that filmmakers
are “soft targets and they have always been so”.
He said: “Filmmakers are the only ones who are courageous enough to show real adverse effects of communal riots... It is art and one needs to see it that way.
“Censor board saw the film and if there was anything wrong they would have stopped the release, but who are these people who are trying to stop the film? If that is the case, why do we even have the censor board? Is it for namesake?”