An open forum held on the third day of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) here on Wednesday observed that censorship had grown into a giant stumbling block for freedom of expression in contemporary India.
“We have a situation where even life itself is being censored, let alone freedom of expression,” the forum said. The censorship that exists in the country could endanger the freedom of the art and the artist. The forum pointed out that those holding power in the country were afraid of being questioned through art and literature.
Addressing the forum, filmmaker V.K. Prakash said that even over-the-top(OTT) media platforms would soon be subject to censorship and that it would bring the death knell of expressive art in the country. Filmmaker Sajin Babu said that protests and resistances should be raised against attempts at censorship.
Film critic Madhu Janardhan said issues connected to religion and morality were usually subjected to censorship. “The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) should consider the viewers as a mature society when applying censorship,” he said.
IFFK general convener T.R. Ajayan, Lijin Jose and Hari Narayanan took part in the open forum. K.C. Jitin was the moderator.
An open forum held on Tuesday underscored the importance of film societies in the State. It said that film societies were extending unwavering support to film festivals in the State. “They (film societies) play a huge role in contributing new ideas towards the modernisation of such festivals”, the speakers pointed out.
They suggested that Malayalam subtitles should be given importance to bring world classics to the local level. Film societies should provide financial support to those who want to make films, they added.
Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Chairman Kamal inaugurated the open forum. which was moderated by Reji M. Damodaran. Film writers and critics P. Ramachandran, George Mathew, Dinesh Babu, Rupesh, Don Palathara, Vennoor Sasidharan, Swathi Lakshmi Vikram and Nizam Asaf took part in the discussions.