Sudhir Mishra reveals Basu Chatterjee ‘rejected’ Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi from National Awards consideration: ‘Unka haq tha’

He also warned Sudhir that the same could happen to his film. Sudhir then recalled an incident from the time when his 2003 film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi was rejected from the National Film awards by the then jury head Basu Chatterjee. Sudhir recalled, “Meri film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi Basu Chatterjee reject kar dete hain. National Award mein uss layak bhi nahi samjha jata hai ki usko laya jaye. Yeh Basu Chatterjee uss waqt Chairman the unka haq tha (Basu Chatterjee rejected my film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. It was not considered worthy enough to be included in the National Award. Basu Chatterjee was the Chairman at the time. It was his right).”

When Vivek asked Sudhir why he stayed quite at the time, he repeated that it was Basu Chatterjee’s right as he was the Chairman. Mishra said that he stayed quiet at the time even though he knew many people in the Congress party, which in power at the time. “Voh bole mujhe nahi pasand hai toh ab voh Chairman tha, usko pasand nahi aayi, uska haq tha bas (He said he did not like it and he was the Chairman, that was his right).”

Vivek Agnihotri’s film was included in the competition section at IFFI and Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid said, “There were 15 films in the international competition — the front window of the festival. Fourteen out of them had the cinematic qualities, and evoked vivid discussions. We were, all of us, disturbed and shocked by the 15th film, The Kashmir Files. That felt to us like a propaganda, vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival.”