Oscar-nominated and two times National Award winning filmmaker Ashvin Kumar is currently battling for the release of his next film, No Fathers In Kashmir. It’s a coming-of-age story about two teenagers whose fathers go missing after being picked up by the armed forces. In the process, they fall in love with each other. The director submitted the film to the CBFC (Central Board Of Film Certification) on July 15, 2018, but after a delay of six months, it has been recommended ‘A’ certificate along with some cuts. A miffed Ashvin says, “The film has no nudity, no vulgarity, no drug abuse, nothing like that in it. There seems to be no concrete objection that is legally sound. The cuts that have been suggested are whimsical and frivolous. The film is made for millennials and has two charming teenagers who will be able to strike a sense of empathy and compassion in the people across the country about what is happening in Kashmir. The CBFC has failed to see the film in its entirety and focussed too hard on non-contextual things.” 

He cites the examples of other films based in the Valley that did not face any such problem. “Haider was passed with a ‘U/A’ certificate. Half Widows, a Kashmiri film, which addressed a similar issue, too, was given a ‘U/A’ rating. These precedents are in the public domain, why are we being singled out?” 

Not only that, the Little Terrorist director says that after going to the FCAT (Film Certification Appellate Tribunal) post the cuts suggested by the CBFC, they got a hearing from the latter in which they were asked for fresh cuts. “It is confusing. In the first order, there were some cuts, and we had gone to FCAT for that. But when we got the hearing, instead of picking up the points the revising committee had raised, they came up with a fresh set of objections and cuts, putting aside the earlier ones! Now, we have to go back to FCAT and address all the new cuts.”

Ashvin adds that because of all the delays, the film cannot qualify for the National Award this year. “The last date is January 15 and without a certificate, we won’t be able to do it,” he rues.