‘Shows Army in poor light’: Right-wing group tries to disrupt screening of film on Kashmir in Pune

There was no disruption in the film festival on Sunday and the next film scheduled for 3.30 pm was also screened. “The organisers were very supportive. I have left Pune,” Chandra said late evening.

Cinemas of India featured independent cinema from across India, and was organised by NFDC-NFAI, Fipresci, the India chapter of an association of film critics and film journalists from 50 countries, and the Pune International Centre.

Released in 2022, the film ‘I Am Not The River Jhelum’ has been screened at various film festivals in India and abroad. Chandra won the best debut director from India at the International Film Festival of Kerala 2022.

A banner of the film’s screening outside the main gate was taken down. The organisers did not want to comment on the protest but said the banners were taken down as the festival was over.

Meanwhile, due to social media posts against the alleged objectionable film, the Pune city police were alert and had deployed adequate personnel at NFAI. The police intervened and brought the protestors to the Deccan police station around 4 pm.

Senior police inspector Vipin Hasabnis said, “We detained the protestors as per sections of the Bombay Police Act. They were released in the evening.”

Ravindra Padwal, a member of the Samasta Hindu Bandhav, said they came to know from a student who saw the film that it has objectionable content against the Indian Army. “We reached the NFAI. However, by that time, the screening of the film was over. We have filed a police complaint seeking action against those who show such a film against the Indian Army at a government-run establishment,” said Padwal.

Sources said police would see the film to check if it has any objectionable content.

Meanwhile, the film scheduled to be screened at 6 pm was cancelled and several cinema-lovers who had congregated for the screening were sent back. Organisers said the screening of the film was cancelled due to a malfunctioning BluRay device.

Banners of the film festival outside the main gate were found to be taken down. It was learnt that police asked the NFAI authorities to stop the screening of the film scheduled at 6 pm and remove the banners carrying the schedule of the films being screened, in the view of the controversy.

“There was no disruption inside and the screening and discussion for the movie went on as usual,” said Tanvi, a student from a private university who was attending the screening. “But when I stepped out of the hall, I realised there was a ruckus going on. There was a big crowd of people in the reception area and some more outside the main gate. Then I found out that the film scheduled for screening at 6pm had been cancelled, so I went home.”

Roshni, who came from Bund Garden for the screenings, was among the several cinema-lovers who were told by the security guards to go back as the screening had been cancelled due to “technical reasons”.