Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The sacking of Anupam Kher by the union minister of I038;B is, ultimately, the final solution. That, at least, is what eminent filmmakers in the country believe. The question is not whether or not Anupam Kher was an 8220;RSS appointee8221;. What8217;s important is to understand that Kher was certainly instrumental in presiding over a system which had blackballed a slew of feature-length documentaries and shorts depicting communal violence in Gujarat, although some lucky ones did manage to escape the axe. Rakesh Sharma8217;s Final Solution was, possibly, the most powerful of the films produced on this theme. It showed clearly how the Gujarat government had openly come out in support of genocidal violence.
According to Rakesh Sharma, nearly 30-40 people attempted to make films on the subject at that time. But Sharma, on his part, looked for 8220;the linkages, the connections8221; that lead to the 8220;basics of such an event8221;. He shot a hundred hours of footage to counter the VHP propaganda, specifically its VCD, Ramsevak Amar Raho, which was produced in lakhs and sold at Rs 5 during the Gujarat election.
The Final Solution had to travel to 50 international film Festivals without a censorship certificate 8212; an essential clause for entry in such festivals. The film was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Fribourg International Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The director won numerous accolades and prestigious awards like the Wolfgang Staudte Award and the Special Jury award Netpac and Silver, Humanitarian award. The director of the Martial Knaebel Festival, Switzerland, considered the film 8220;a work against lethal intentions8221;.
When The Final Solution was spiked by Kher, Rakesh Sharma termed the decision 8220;vindictive8221;. For him, the film captured the parallels between the 8220;horrific movement8221; in Germany and the one 8220;taking shape through saffronisation8221; within India, with the same ghettoisation and segregation in schools becoming the order of the day. The film depicted how India could be heading towards 8220;a final solution8221; of ethnic cleansing. It served as a warning against this dangerous trend.
Anupam Kher, instead of playing the role of injured artiste to the hilt, should perhaps introspect on his inability to stand up for an important work of documentary art.
