Paanch
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The movie is loosely based on the 1976-77 Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders. It was in controversy and it never made to the theatres. The Censor Board made various cuts to the movie after which it was passed. Anurag Kashyap tried very hard to get it to the theatres but couldn’t reach the theatres and could never be seen until a preview copy was leaked online.
Paanch is an unreleased Indian film which was the directorial debut of Anurag Kashyap.The film is “loosely” based on the 1976-77 Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders in Pune. This dark noir was so controversial and ahead of its time that the censors had put a stay on its release and the film still today remains unreleased .
The refusals to release this film were made on six grounds – the film glorifies violence; it shows the modus operandi of a crime (killing of a police officer); it shows excessive use of drugs; it has double meaning dialogues (with sexual undertones); it has no positive characters; it does not carry a social message (These things by the way are pretty much standard in films these days).
After some cuts, the film was cleared in 2001. However, it could not be released as the producer faced some problems.
Nevertheless a preview copy of the film leaked online in 2010 (the one which i have also uploaded) and can be found on some torrent sites
Water
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Directed by Deepa Mehta, this movie showcases the difficult and simple lives of widows in ashrams. In 1938, Gandhi’s party is making inroads in women’s rights. Chuyia, a child already married but living with her parents, becomes a widow. By tradition, she is unceremoniously left at a bare and impoverished widows’ ashram, beside the Ganges during monsoon season. The ashram’s leader pimps out Kalyani, a young and beautiful widow, for household funds. Narayan, a follower of Gandhi, falls in love with her
It hurt the feelings of Hindus which led to massive protests and burning of posters of this movie on the ghats, people demolished the set and equipments and threatened Mehta. Activist Arun Pathak also organised a suicide protest to stop the film production. Pathak tied a large stone around his waist, took a boat to the center of the Ganges, and jumped into the river when the cameras were filming. His friends jumped into the river, rescued him, and rushed him to the hospital. Members of the right-wing Hindu group, the Shiv Sena, had burnt pirated DVDs of the movie and warned shopkeepers not to stock it
Aarakshan
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Aarakshan is a 2011 Bollywood film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Deepika Padukone and many other actors. Directed by Prakash Jha, the film is a socio-political drama based on the controversial policy of caste based reservations in Indian government jobs and educational institutions. The film was banned in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh before its theatrical release.
The Punjab government banned the film on fears that certain scenes and dialogues in the film may inflame the passion of some communities in Punjab. Mayawati government banned the film in UP for two months on grounds that it could create law and order problem in the state. Prakash Jha had to make changes in the story in the middle of its filming. The movie lost its direction and ended up in failing on the box office. It was unsuccessful in appealing the audience.
Boom
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The movie is about three female models who are unwittingly thrown into the Bombay underworld when they accidentally stop a diamond delivery to the Middle East. Directed by Kaizad Gustad and produced by Jackie Shroff’s wife, Ayesha Shroff, the film features Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover, Padma Lakshmi, Madhu Sapre, Zeenat Aman and Katrina Kaif. Boom was Katrina Kaif’s debut film.
She was a last minute replacement of model Meghna Reddy who left the film and Katrina was cast. It explores the involvement of the fashion world with underworld crime. It has been described by critics as a “soft-porn venture masquerading as clever, outside-the-box cinema”. Due to its bold scenes it got mixed reviews from the audience.
Nishabd
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A man, who has been married for 27 years, falls in love with his 18-year-old daughter’s friend. Nishabd is a 2007 Indian drama film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jiah Khan. Amitabh Bachchan plays the role of a man who falls in love with his daughter’s friend Jiah Khan.
The movie received backlash and had to face people’s wrath. Congress party officials in Uttar Pradesh wanted the film banned, on account of it being “against Indian values.” There was a major protest in Allahabad over the film, where protesters claimed the film was bringing in “Western values.” Many people condemned Amitabh Bachchan and opted to boycott this movie.
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
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Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 Indian English-language historical romance film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Mira Nair. It takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra and serves as a common link between the characters. The film stars Rekha, Indira Varma, and Naveen Andrews in pivotal roles. In order to film in India, the production had to use a fake title “Tara and Maya”.
Indian authorities would not have permitted the film to be made there had they known its true title and content. When Indian authorities eventually became aware of the content of the film during shooting, the producers and the director were forced to bribe them as “protection money” to avoid prosecution. Censor Board termed the movie as ‘explicit’, ‘unethical’ and ‘immoral’. Though India is the country that came up with the concept of Kamasutra, this movie faced the wrath of Censor Board. The movie is a critically acclaimed one, but censor board banned it ultimately.
Parzania
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Parzania is a 2007 Indian drama film co-written and directed by Rahul Dholakia; David N. Donihue is the other co-writer. The film featured Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika in the lead roles, while Corin Nemec and Raj Zutshi played supporting roles. The film was shot in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
The story is about a parsi family who struggles to find thier son in a genocide carried out by vested interests outfits during 2002, commonly known as Gujarat riots, where more than 2000 Muslims died in the Indian state of Gujarat. After an initiative by ANHAD, a civil rights group, the movie was shown in some parts of Gujarat. The topic of the movie is so sensitive that it remained under controversy throughout. Multiplex owners in Gujarat refused to screen Los Angeles–based Indian filmmaker Rahul Dholakia’s ‘Parzania’ fearing vandalism from the Hindu rightwing outfits – the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council)
Amu
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Amu is a critically acclaimed 2005 film directed by Shonali Bose, on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The film is based on Bose’s own novel by the same name. It stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Brinda Karat, and Ankur Khanna. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005.
The film faced problems with the censor board in India, which cleared it only with 6 politically motivated cuts, and with an “A” certificate. Since — according to Indian law — this made the movie ineligible to be telecast on Indian television, the producers later reapplied for a UA censor certificate. This was when a 10-minute cut was suggested by censors, including removal of all verbal references to the riots. Subsequently, the producers decided to forgo the lower certification.
Fire
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Fire is a 1996 Indian-Canadian romantic drama film written and directed by Deepa Mehta, and starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. The film is loosely based on Ismat Chughtai’s 1942 story, Lihaaf (The Quilt). It was one of the first mainstream Bollywood films to explicitly show homosexual relations. After its 1998 release in India, certain groups staged several protests, setting off a flurry of public dialogue around issues such as homosexuality and freedom of speech. On 2 December, more than 200 Shiv Sanaiks stormed a Cinemax theatre in suburban Goregaon in Mumbai, smashing glass panes, burning posters and shouting slogans.
They compelled managers to refund tickets to moviegoers. On 3 December, a Regal theatre in Delhi was similarly stormed. Bajrang Dal workers with lathis invaded Rajpalace and Rajmahal in Surat, breaking up everything in sight and driving away frightened audiences. Theatres in Surat and Pune stopped screening the film on the same day. On 12 December about 60 Shiv Sena men stripped down to their underwear and squatted in front of Dilip Kumar’s house to protest his support of Fire. 22 were arrested and Kumar, as well as others involved in the production of the film were provided with police security
Aandhi
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Aandhi is a 1975 Indian political drama film starring Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen, and directed by Gulzar. it was alleged that the film was based on the life of the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her relationship with her estranged husband, but in reality, only the look was inspired by the politician Tarkeshwari Sinha and Indira Gandhi. The film released in February 1975 amidst controversy, as rumours abound that it was based on the life of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Some of film’s posters also hyped the similarity, with lines like, “See your Prime Minister on screen” and “the story of a great woman political leader in post-Independence India”.
As the film gained momentum, some ambitious exhibitors even started promoting the film with the line, “See Indira Gandhi in Aandhi”. By now film was openly courting controversy, despite being only a mild satire on politicians. The film was eventually banned after 26 weeks after it release. The film publicity posters were taken down and the prints were sent back. Some critics, including Subhash K. Jha have drawn thematic parallels between Indira Gandhi and her father Jawaharlal Nehru as depicted in the film also references to their personal lives.
