They strongly condemned “the biased fascist decision” of the I&B Ministry

The filmmaker fraternity in Kerala issued a joint statement on Thursday, strongly condemning “the biased fascist decision” of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of India.

The ministry had dropped two films — Ravi Jadhav’s Nude and Sanal Sasidharan’s S Durga — from the lineup at the Indian Panorama section of the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

This came a day after esteemed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan called the government decision “illegal and immoral.

“Apart from the fact that these movies have heralded a new era in the Indian cinema industry and have been discussed and rewarded on international stages, what alarms us is the complete disregard and disrespect that has been shown to the selection, stands and decisions of the independent jury of the film festival by the central government,” said the statement.

The statement’s signatories include Aashiq Abu, Rajeev Ravi, Lijo Pallissery, Dileesh Pothan, Geethu Mohandas, Rafeeq Ahamed, Rima Kallingal, VK Sreeraman, Soubin Shahir, Vidhu Vincent, Syam Pushkaran, Fousia Fatima, Shyju Khalid, Madhu Neelakandan, Bijibal, Shahabaz Aman, Ajithkumar B, Anwar Ali, Indu VS, Kamal K, Soumya Sadanandan and Asha Joseph.

“A jury headed and chaired by nationally and internationally renowned film maker Sujoy Ghosh selected Sexy Durga and Nude as part of the Panorama to represent Indian cinema at the 48th International Film Festival of India. And this decision stands annulled by the central government. The jury chairman has resigned from his post as a sign of protest,” the statement noted, adding, “We strongly condemn this act and we stand by the right to freedom of speech and expression of the film makers, and the decisions of the esteemed jury.”

Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh, who was the jury chairman for Indian Panaroma, resigned in protest on Tuesday, with jury member Apurva Asrani following the next day.