HYDERABAD, NOV 5: A 37-minute documentary on martyr journalist Shoebullah Khan, widely acclaimed by historians and freedom fighters as well as film critics, is gathering dust thanks to the red tape in the higher echelons of the Central government.Titled Hyderabad August 1948, the documentary brings forth the saga of those who opposed the Nizam and supported the accession of the erstwhile Hyderabad state to the Indian Union.Commissioned by the Doordarshan, the documentary rekindles the memory of 28-year-old Shoebullah, editor and publisher of Imroze, who was killed by the Razakars for having opposed the Nizam.It was produced in 1992 by Divakar S Natarajan, who did his MS in Television Management in New York.Since then, top politicians of the country including the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu have recommended that the film be dubbed in all national languages and given the widest possible distribution. They also recommended that Divakar himself be commissioned by the Doordarshan on a regular basis as a film maker. But till this day, nothing has happened.The only positive outcome of this documentary has been that the government honoured Sheobullah Khan's widow with a Swatantra Senani Sanmaan about 40 years after his martyrdom.It was way back in 1994 that Padma Vibushan and well-known freedom fighter Kaloji Narayana Rao requested the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao to get the film dubbed in all languages. Atal Behari Vajpayee, in his capacity as Leader of the Opposition, too made a similar request. But Doordarshan did not take any action.Others who acclaimed the documentary and called for due recognition to the producer included a galaxy of distinguished Indian and international film personalities such as Soumitra Chatterji, Shyam Benegal, Jean Claude Carriere, Om Puri and Siddarth Kak.
