Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar stood by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry's decision to exclude director Ravi Jadhav's Nude and Sanal Sasidharan's S Durga from being screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2017.
Speaking to journalists, Parrikar said that Nude was an 'incomplete' film since it did not have a 'censor certificate'. Parrikar also went on to add that the other film, S Durga, did not have the requisite changes as requested by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The decision of the ministry to overrule the jury's acceptance of the films has snowballed into a major controversy. The chief of the Indian Panorama jury, director Sujoy Ghosh tendered his resignation, so did writer Apurva Asrani and Gyan Correa. S Durga director Sanal has also petitioned the Kerala high court asking for an explanation from the I&B ministry regarding their decision.
However, Parrikar stuck to his guns. Speaking to reporters in Panaji, the chief minister said, "What information I have got is that the film Nude is not a complete movie. It is without a censorship certificate, so we cannot show it in the IFFI. We can’t show the film without the censorship certificate."
Parrikar is also the chairman of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), which is the nodal agency conducting the IFFI festival. He added that "The decision to drop S Durga from the festival was taken to avoid the sentiments of any community from getting hurt."
"The film was part of two festivals, including MAMI in Mumbai and Kerala Film Festival, but it was shown after adequate cuts to avoid any feelings to be hurt. It was submitted to IFFI without any cuts (sic)," Parrikar said.
The IFFI 2017 festival will be held in Goa from 20-28 November.