'Doesn't take Board six months to certify film'

Since the subject of Kashmir makes a frequent appearance in his films, Oscar-nominee Ashvin Kumar hasn't particularly been a favourite of members of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). However, when his upcoming offering, No Fathers In Kashmir, received little respite from the censor's scissors, and was given an A certificate, Kumar decided to ask the board for a revision.

With the Board paying little heed to his request, he took his film - a story of two 16-year-old lovers from the valley, both of whom do not have fathers - to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), the final decision-making body for certifications. And while the tribunal had little concern with the film's content, they sent it back to the CBFC's table to abide by legal procedures.

Kumar, who was to receive a response from the Board last week, is evidently disturbed with the development. "I have been doing the rounds of the CBFC since July 15. It does not take six months to certify a film. We still don't know when we will get it. I have attended hearings in Mumbai and Delhi, on two occasions each. I don't know which other filmmaker has been put through this ordeal."

In violation of the Cinematography Act, the Board failed to meet the 68-day deadline to certify his film in the first place, and eventually gave Kumar an A certificate 82 days after he submitted it. Unable to decipher the reason behind the delay, he says, "Our film shows Kashmir with empathy and compassion. That is what will bring peace. The next generation should be armed with the truth. If people understand what is going on in the valley, they may stop believing in what the paid media sells to them." Kumar's debut documentary, Inshallah Football, and second offering, Inshallah Kashmir: Living Terror, had also been given A certificates, despite winning National Awards.

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