Tags:
Journalism of Courage
After censoring Lok Nayak — a Prakash Jha film on the Emergency — last year, Doordarshan now wants to be known as its producer.
Ever since Jha entered his film for the National Awards, DD’s interest in Lok Nayak has received fresh impetus. Officials said Jha should credit DD as the producer as it was the Ministry of Culture and DD which commissioned the film.
Jha says he is the producer of the film. ‘‘I am the producer and I am eligible to enter the film for the awards,’’ he said. The film was also certified by the Censor Board for a certification under Jha’s name, an act which renders DD unfit to claim a stake in the making of the film. ‘‘Even we want to enter the film for National Awards, it would not be possible as the film obtained a certification in Jha’s name,’’ sources said.
But DD wants Jha to acknowledge its role — as a commissioning agent. ‘‘If it wins an award, he should credit DD for having commissioned it in the first place for a little less than Rs 1 crore,’’ sources added.
