In 1985, when Anand Patwardhan got his first national award for his film Bombay Our City, he sent Dinkar Hedau, a destitute man from Bandra who was part of the film’s subject, to receive the award on his behalf. And after a tumultuous relationship with this award over the last 30 years, Anand bid farewell to it, as a protest against attacks on freedom of expression. He returned his award on Tuesday, along with seven other filmmakers (including Dibakar Banerjee) who did the same.
While using a National Award to make a political statement is not a new idea for the acclaimed filmmaker, parting with it was an extremely tough decision, he reveals. Speaking to us about what prompted him and his fellow filmmakers to take the step, Anand also elaborates on why artistes should now take up the mantle of protesting for FTII, his thoughts on the Dadri lynching, and also why he feels more scared now than he did during the Emergency.
“We have all been witnessing with deep shock and disbelief the events of the last few months and at some point, we had to stand up and protest,” says Anand, who adds that for him and many others that threshold was the lynching of Akhlaq Mohammad in Dadri for allegedly eating beef. “That incident woke people up. There was something infinitely wrong with the whole manner in which the incident transpired. A closer look at the machinations that went in before the lynching make it all too clear as to how cold and calculated they were and when something like this is planned and executed, it is indeed very scary.”
But another major factor that prompted his decision, says Anand was the reactions it garnered. “When the writers first gave away their awards, it was because of the silence of the PM. The government and its affiliates have been acting so far as if what has happened is ‘perfectly alright’ and that these are minor incidents at best. There is the fact that states such as Goa and Maharashtra have not banned organisations like the Sanatan Sanstha and even their news channels and publications openly justify the killing of people over something as trivial as eating beef. This silence and support is what is more grave,” says Anand.
While he has always remained a strong voice in support of the students’ protest in FTII, Anand also says that he believes now it is time for the film fraternity to take up the fight directly for the students. “Their (the students of FTII) struggle so far has been heroic. But now they have been forced to give up because they are faced against a wall. If they continue the protest, they stand to lose everything, including their future. Which is why the film fraternity should take up the responsibility of protesting for them, because this isn’t a fight we can give up.” About the situation in FTII, Anand adds, “You can’t have a mediocre person in charge of an institute of excellence. This has been happening in several educational institutions, where political members have been given power over the institutions. However, the FTII was the one place where the students stood up against it. Which is why it is so heroic.”
In an earlier statement, the filmmaker had said that he was now more afraid than he was during the days of the Emergency. Elaborating on that statement, Anand says, “When the Emergency was on, we were persecuted for our thoughts and were faced with the fear of being imprisoned. But now, we have to be afraid of when a motorcycle gang will show up and murder you for propagating your opinions. Three brilliant writers of our generation whom we knew, have fallen victim to this persecution and god knows how many we don’t know have been attacked too. So in many ways it is significantly worse than the Emergency.”
Responding to the comments of certain Union Government officials claiming that the returning of awards was a ‘political gimmick’ and their questions about why the artists and writers were doing it now and not during the 1984 Sikh riots, Anand says, “They should know that it is an extremely tough decision to return one’s awards and honours. It is not so easy to be done as a gimmick. We were not keen to give our awards back, but our hands were forced. The government says that all those who are protesting are ‘leftists’. If so then the left, which has so far been a fringe group, must have become incredibly strong seeing the number of people who are now protesting. We have decided to return our awards through a cumulative process. It is not this incident or that incident which has prompted our move, but the sum of parts which signifies the whole atmosphere of growing intolerance in the country.”
Known for the sense of rebellion in his films, Anand says that his move has nothing to do with any prejudice. “In all my earlier films, I had vehemently fought against the Congress and the wrongdoings they committed during their time of power. And that just goes on to show that things are now significantly worse than what they were before.” Reacting to popular activist Germaine Greere’s recent comments at the Mumbai LitFest that at some level or the other nobody really has freedom of expression, Anand exclaims, “I believe that freedom of expression is and never has been a given. We have always had to fight for it and now we are ready to do so.”
