Filmmaker Hansal Mehta feels that the censor board might have issues with his upcoming film Omerta. While he is mentally prepared for what might come, he does hope the board understands the context before raising issues.
“We will cross the bridge when we come to it. There will be a problem. But I hope they (censor board) understands the film’s context. We haven’t done anything to sensationalise,” he tells The Indian Express.
Omerta, starring Rajkummar Rao, is said to be about the life of British terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who kidnapped and murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. He was arrested in 1994 and served time but was released from jail after hijackers took an Indian Airlines jet to Kandahar airport, in southern Afghanistan.
The film was recently screened at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Fest and received well. Speaking about a scene in particular, that includes the National Anthem, Mehta emphasises that one cannot make a film bearing the censor board in mind.
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“If I had thought that it would be contentious, I would not have put it in the film. You can’t trust the censor board. You can’t make a film thinking about censor board,” he adds.
Mehta’s last film, Simran with Kangana Ranaut, was met with mixed criticism. He also has The Accidental Prime Minister, based on Sanjaya Baru’s book, in the pipeline. Omerta is likely to release next year.
Feature Image: India Today