Screening of ‘Kakkoos,’ a documentary film on manual scavenging, organised by a forum, Nizharthaangal, in Parakkai in Kanniyakumari district on Saturday evening was stopped by the police citing that the film was not certified by Central Board of Film Certification.
Film-maker K. Divya from Madurai, however, alleged that the screening was prevented since the documentary portrayed plight of conservancy workers and exposed how different forms of manual scavenging were widely prevalent, contrary to claims of the government. “Hundreds of documentaries are screened in different places daily without CBFC certification. Even the venue, where the screening was planned, had screened many documentaries. Why target only ours?” she questioned.
She added that the documentary was released in the last week of February with a screening to a large gathering of audience in Chennai. “We were not stopped then. Perhaps, the police were not aware of the documentary’s content at that time,” she said.
Lakshmi Manivannan, secretary of Nizharthaangal, said that he received numerous calls in the past few days from officials claiming to be from intelligence wings of Tamil Nadu Police asking a lot of queries. “I got irritated when they asked personal questions about my family, which I felt was unnecessary. Though none visited my house, they apparently conducted enquiries in the neighbourhood,” he said.
Though the jurisdictional Suchindrum police never approached him, Mr. Manivannan said he received calls on Saturday from police officials informing that a case under non-bailable sections could be booked if the documentary was screened. “Though we did not proceed with the screening, we organised a discussion with Ms. Divya,” he said.
Ms. Divya said that she did not take the film to CBFC since she lacked faith in the institution and was concerned that CBFC will suggest a lot of cuts to the hard-hitting documentary. “Now that the police have begun to stop the screening, I am considering about applying for CBFC certification. If they impose many cuts, I will have to approach the court,” she said.
G. Dharmarajan, Superintendent of Police, Kanniyakumari District, said that the screening was stopped only for the reason that the provisions of The Cinematograph Act of 1952 had not been followed.
Denying the allegation that the documentary was selectively targeted for its content, he said, “We appreciate the cause the documentary deals with. If they had obtained certification, we would have gladly allowed the screening,” he said.
