Khusboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla, the filmmakers who were instructed by Pahlaj Nihalani to get a ‘No Objection’ Certificate (NOC) from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their Hindi-English documentary, An Insignificant Man, can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
According to Mumbai Mirror, the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) in its order, asked the CBFC to issue a U/A certificate to the film and held that the requirement of seeking an NoC from political personages and others as a pre-condition for certification is unsustainable.
Speaking about the use of NoC, the FCAT pointed out that “there is considerable merit in the submission of the Appellant that requiring NoC from public personalities would cull the documentary cinema, rather render the making of a documentary on political scenario neigh impossible”. They also acknowledged that the documentary has content quoted and reproduced from speeches and / or taken from record events and information that are available in public domain. “In these circumstances, requiring a filmmaker to obtain NoC from the affected parties or characters in the film to whom references are made, [is] tantamount to the CBFC abdicating its statutory functions. This is neither desirable nor permissible at law.”
Back in May this year, under Nihalani’s governance at the CBFC, the makers were asked to obtain an NOC. Nihalani said, “We’ve asked the makers of this documentary to furnish NoCs from the people whom they’ve documented. This is standard procedure. Prior to this when a film on the Prime Minister entitled Modi Ka Gaon was brought to us, we asked for an NoC from the PM’s office.”
The film is 95 minutes long and had taken almost four years to complete. Directed by first-time filmmakers Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla, the project came to life when they decided to shoot the beginnings of the AAP, on a whim.
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Happy with the verdict, the two filmmakers told Mirror that though they’re more optimistic about the CBFC now that Prasoon Joshi has taken over as Chief, it still doesn’t rule out how such practices could continue. “At the risk of sounding rude, I have to say that Prasoon cannot represent the sensibilities of an entire country. We need certification, we don’t need a Censor Board,” said Shukla.