Dissent in a climate of fear

Films are increasingly exploring political themes, but artistes are muted in their response to government intimidation

Over the past week, film trade in India appeared caught up with two big-ticket releases; a spy thriller in Hindi and a period drama in Telugu, both celebrating men at war with the enemy.

It was a regular week for many of the industry’s social media stars. Some shared pictures from the extended festival break, motivational stories and congratulated each other on careers and cover shoots.

The week also saw police in Bihar close a controversial case against 49 citizens, artistes and filmmakers, on charges including sedition.

Allegations that led to the case ­— a complaint against an open letter citizens wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on rising mob violence — were found “lacking in substance”. Before it all ended, there were a few protests against recurring attempts to silence dissent. Media reports introduced organisers of these protests and mail campaigns as activists, Left-aligned youth groups and theatre artistes.

There’s something disturbingly familiar in what this case leaves behind. The FIR was lodged against people for speaking out on a social reality in line with our times. Calls against alleged attempts to muffle dissent came only from a few artistes and activist collectives. In the film industries, the ones who question have continued to question; the others have either stayed clear or accused the dissenters of selective outrage.

It is logical to draw parallels between an increasingly polarised society and an extensive community of artistes divided by opinion. The ones who have spoken out, however, argue that artistes are not unaware of the threats of being targeted for voicing their opinions. They believe it is just a matter of time before the community realises that silence is complicit, as it tries to reassert an important narrative — that art cannot be separated from its politics.

The idea of the ‘political film’ is evolving across languages; there are upgrades on the classic man vs system template and new themes are being explored in caste and gender politics. So, does the role of filmmakers and actors have to be defined entirely by what they create?

What’s expected of them as citizens, merely reacting to what’s happening around them? Award-winning Malayalam filmmaker Vidhu Vincent says artistes should have responded more proactively to what she calls “symptoms” of the problem. Efforts to undermine scientific temper and inclusive politics had already made headway. “Any art is a response to the time it’s created in; when I write or make a film, I can’t separate my creative process from the times I live in. We’ve been late in our response but when we are at it, we need to stick together,” she says.

Vincent’s debut feature ‘Manhole’, a film on the life of manual scavengers, won her the Kerala State Film Award for best director and film in 2017. “There is reluctance in certain corners to challenge these invasions of rightful spaces but I feel it’s temporary. It could also be because many are in denial and are not willing to accept that the problem is already here,” she says.

The ruling BJP has dismissed outrage over the case and said vested interests are involved, spreading familiar fears over restrictions on freedom of expression (FoE). Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javdekar’s defence, that his party or the government has no link to the case, has not slowed down political opposition.
Narratives around FoE driven by political affiliations are a given but it’s a concerted move to express solidarity with the 49 people, from within the artiste community, that could have sent out a bigger statement of intent, feels actor and filmmaker Nasser.

“It’s true that artistes haven’t been able to stitch together a collective resistance at the national level when it comes to issues like this. In Tamil Nadu, strong political affiliations do hamper such efforts but as artistes, we have to come together to voice our concerns,” he says. Nasser feels it is important to take discussions on FoE beyond actors, filmmakers and celebrities. “It cuts across all forms of creative expression. Why only filmmakers or artistes? These are issues of a society we need to face and address as citizens,” he says.

The silence of some of our major stars and filmmakers –actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan has been a notable exception — on important social issues and movements including #MeToo, has set off social media outrage. The backlash is also marked with the irony of “conformist” men and women playing anti-establishment screen heroes.

The criticism doesn’t always factor in rights of the artistes to be noncommittal or selective in their responses due to professional – “Films are a business too” — or other reasons.
On the other side of the social media divide, the ones who’ve chosen to ask questions are having it tough as well.

Actor Swara Bhasker continues to be targeted for her tweets, political and otherwise. Prominent industry professionals have countered what they call “selective outrage” and “false narratives” driven by “political bias”.

The open letter by the 49 citizens had also led to criticism, with 62 people including actor Kangana Ranaut and director Madhur Bhandarkar issuing a retaliatory statement, calling the letter an attempt to tarnish India’s international standing. Prasoon Joshi, Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, was among the signatories.

Earlier this week, reports came out about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh being in talks with online streaming platforms seeking regulation of what it sees as ‘anti-national’ content. Vincent says earlier attempts to exercise control on creative spaces were revelatory.

“We’ve already seen omissions and selections being made in film festivals to fit a certain narrative. In Kerala, artistes have shown that we can forget personal differences to come together and defend a colleague’s right to expression. As a community, we can’t be unresponsive to attempts to silence us,” she says.