Opinion - Readers' Editor : Online & Off line
Ambedkar film: better late than never
S. Viswanathan
In a significant intervention, the First Bench of the Madras High
Court directed the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) on May
18 "to take all possible steps to release at an early date the Tamil
version of its English film, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, released in 1998.
The Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Elipe Dharma and Justice
K.K. Sasidharan also directed the State Government to "decide the
issue regarding tax concession as claimed by the distributor of the
Tamil version" within two weeks. Disposing of a writ petition filed by
a lawyer, S. Sathia Chandran, under Article 226 of the Constitution,
the judges further directed the NFDC, a Government of India enterprise
based in New Delhi, to release the film "as expeditiously as possible
and in any case, within a period of four weeks" from the date of
receipt of the order. Article 226 of the Constitution relates to the
power of High Courts to issue certain writs. Clause 2 states: "The
power conferred by clause (1) to issue directions, orders or writs to
any Government, authority or person may also be exercised by any High
Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to the territories within
which the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises for the exercise
of such power, notwithstanding that the seat of such Government or
authority or the residence of such person is not within those
territories.)"
The orders, when acted upon, will hopefully bring to an end the long
wait of film-lovers in Tamil Nadu, particularly those working in the
fields of human rights and social justice, besides large sections of
the general public, including Dalits, to watch the acclaimed film.
Directed by paediatrician-turned-filmmaker Jabbar Patel, the film was
released 12 years ago to mark the birth centenary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
(1891-1956), one of the architects of the Constitution of India. The
film was produced at a cost of Rs. 7.75 crore with funds provided by
the central and Maharashtra governments in 1991.
Veteran Malayalam actor Mammootty's stellar performance as Dr Ambedkar
brought him the National Award for acting in 1999. The film also
bagged awards in the categories of Best English Film and Best Art
Direction. On the choice of Mammootty, Jabbar Patel said in an
interview to The Week: "I searched all over the world for somebody who
would be able to perform and look like Ambedkar. I chose Mammootty
after screening hundreds of actors in India and abroad."
Critical acclaim
The feature film received detailed reviews and critical acclaim in the
media across the country. Several mainstream newspapers and magazines
published insightful interviews with Jabbar Patel on his highly
professional filming of Dr Ambedkar's life and times. "In fact, the
talent that has gone into the film is what makes it well-researched
and slickly-produced," said a reviewer. The scriptwriters included a
former Editor of Free Press Journal, Aru Sadhu; and an
Ambedkar-scholar, Y.D. Phadke, reviewed the script for authenticity.
Although the producers said the film was dubbed in nine languages, the
Tamil version is yet to see the light of day. Tamil Nadu's Information
and Publicity Minister Parithi Ilamvazhuthi told the State Assembly on
May 7, 2007, that the State Government had granted Rs. 10 lakh to dub
the Ambedkar film in Tamil. He also recalled that the State Government
provided a grant of Rs. 99 lakh to make a film on the champion of the
social justice, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, and ordered tax exemption for
screening the film. He promised that the film would be released
"soon." Recently, advocates and students of Madurai Law College and
social activists staged a demonstration in Madurai demanding the
release of the film. They raised slogans against governments at the
Centre and in the States for not arranging the release of the film
even a decade after its making. They attributed motives to the
authorities. Nothing much seems to have happened. The petitioner said
in his affidavit: "It is an undisputed fact that if the film on Dr.
Ambedkar is released in Tamil, it would certainly awaken and enlighten
the toiling masses, the Dalits, towards working for an egalitarian and
truly casteless society, which is the ideal of the Constitution, as
dreamt of by Dr. Ambedkar."
It is not as if Tamil Nadu is the only State in which there was no
public screening of the film in the regional language. Even in States
where the film was exhibited, the authorities were reportedly not very
keen to take it to larger audiences. The indifference of the
authorities, some Dalit activists said, was aligned with the
reluctance of "upper caste" owners of cinema houses in several places.
Its screening and questions
The inordinate delay in the attempt to get the film screened in Tamil
Nadu raises some questions. How was it that either the government
enterprise, NFDC, or central and State government authorities did not
take any serious initiative for such a long period to provide access
to the film for the people of a progressive State, which accounts for
the third largest presence of Dalits in the country, for whose rights
Dr Ambedkar fought all his life and for whom it could have been an
inspiring experience? How could the leaders of the principal political
parties, who are legitimately proud of their long, uncompromising
struggles against caste-based discrimination and their continuous
fight for social justice, have been so slow in taking to the people
the message of the one who dedicated his life, his outstanding
intellect, and his many gifts to the concept of affirmative
discrimination and facilitated the extension of reservation benefits
to more sections of the socially and educationally backward people, on
an appropriate occasion? One possible explanation from the authorities
for this lapse could be that when the film was launched in the late
1990s at the national level, some regions in Tamil Nadu were badly
affected by caste-related violence and mindless killings and so it was
not the right time to screen the film. But then, even assuming that
such fears were not ill founded, it should be noted that the situation
in the State took a turn for the better from mid-2000. The screening
of the film could not have been much of a problem. In any case, a
national leader like Dr Ambedkar, whose contribution to the Indian
polity and democracy was second to none and whose influence today is
perhaps greater than at any point during his lifetime, deserves
better.
Boasting a film industry that produces about 120 films every year and
generates an annual revenue of not less than Rs. 800 crore and more
than 1,800 cinema houses, Tamil Nadu could hardly throw the blame on
any resource crunch for the delay in arranging for the public
screening of a historic film of undisputed educational value. The
authorities would do well to expedite the process of giving a tax
waiver to the film and facilitate its screening for the benefit of all
sections of the people, especially the youth and students. The role of
the media in monitoring and indeed ensuring such socially beneficial
outcomes is important.
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