The Accidental Prime Minister’s movie trailer has garnered an overwhelming response throughout the social media. While the view count on YouTube is increasing by leaps and bounds, the movie trailer has gained the top spot in terms of Trending videos on the same. However, the movie trailer seemed to also have burned the left liberals inside out, as they’ve begun bashing the movie trailer, as well as the entire crew.
Reports of a possible ban in Madhya Pradesh have also surfaced, even though the government spokespersons have hotly denied the same. This is however, not new for Congress, which has had a long history of banning movies that don’t kowtow to their agenda. While the list is probably infinite, here are 5 crucial movies that were banned by the Congress party:
Neel Akasher Neechey
Released in 1959 and directed by famous filmmaker Mrinal Sen, this Bengali movie was officially the first film to be banned by the Congress government. It was a moving tale of a Chinese immigrant, who develops a unique sibling relationship with a local freedom fighter. It was banned for its ‘overt political sentiments’, setting an unwanted trend of banning movies bold in content.
Garam Hawa
Directed by M S Sathyu, and released in 1973, this was an unusual take on the tragic Partition of India and the events that surrounded the same. Initially, the movie was banned by the Censor Board, at the behest of the Central Government, citing ‘the communal tension’ that this film might raise. However, the massive outrage that was raised against the ban by the intelligentsia forced the then PM to reconsider the decision, and the film was released without any cuts.
Aandhi
This movie was living proof of how intolerant the Congress has been towards even a mild portrayal of the Nehru Gandhi family on screen. Directed by famous writer cum lyricist S S Kalra aka Gulzar, the movie was mostly based on Tarakeshwari Sinha, a famous politician from Bihar, and the first woman to hold the office of Deputy Finance Minister in independent India.
Starring famous actors Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen, the movie was misconstrued to be a biopic on the then PM Indira Gandhi, who had assumed dictatorial powers with the imposition of the Emergency in 1975. Despite the then CBFC and the Information & Broadcasting Minister I K Gujral clearing the movie, Aandhi was banned a few weeks after the release. It was not until the rise of Janata Party in 1977 that Aandhi was re-released in the theatres.
Kissa Kursi Ka
However, despite the controversy, Aandhi at least had the luck to release unscathed. That wasn’t so with ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’. Directed by Amrit Nahata, it was a satire that lampooned the likes of Sanjay Gandhi and his cronies who called the shots during the dark days of the Emergency, be it Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari, or private secretary to the then PM R K Dhawan, or even the controversial socialite Rukhsana Sultana.
Starring actors like Shabana Azmi, Surekha Sikri, Rehana Sultan, Raj Kiran, Utpal Dutt etc. in principal roles, the movie prints were not only confiscated, but also burnt in a Maruti factory at Gurgaon [now Gurugram]under the supervision of Sanjay Gandhi himself. The director had to remake the movie all over again, and it was released in 1977 as a telefilm.
Kuttrapathirikai
This was another movie that proved how much liberal Congress actually is. Made in 1991, the movie was all set to release by 1993, when it was banned by the government for its ‘drastic political message’, with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi at the backdrop. It was released much later in 2007 when Madras High Court overturned the verdict. Ironically, this movie also starred Anupam Kher, and even more surprisingly in the role of the slain PM Rajiv Gandhi. So getting into controversy for allegedly offending the Gandhi family is not new for Anupam Kher.
As Congress is trying their best to defame ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ and prevent audiences from flocking to the theatres with hundreds of misleading and fake news, let us be reminded of their tyranny on the creative arts that they’ve practised time and again. The list of movies banned by the Congress are the testimony of the fact that the Congress has fostered and nurtured the ban culture on creative arts.
