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India Bans 1984 Film:
Saadda Haq - Our Birthright

JASPREET NIJHER

 

 

 

The Punjabi film Saadda Haq -- "Our Birthright" -- that depicts real life events from the days of state terrorism in Punjab in the early 80s, has been banned in India before its release.

Banning the film's release, India’s Censor Board says it has not passed it owing to representation of certain events portrayed in the film that the Board has found to be objectionable.

"History repeats itself when mistakes committed in history are not checked and improved upon. So, we were hoping this film turns out to be an eye-opener for everyone, the government and the people," says Kuljinder Singh Sidhu, the scriptwriter of the film who also played a crucial role in it.

"There are two plots in this film. The first portrays the times of militancy and the second reveals the viewpoint of today's youth pertaining to those times."

Claimed to be the first fictionalized film in Punjabi cinema based on true life events, Saadda Haq, directed by Mandeep Benipal, had gathered a decent buzz online since its started production in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, on Vaisakhi this year. The film also stars Parmod Matho, Dinesh Sood, Dhriti Saharan, Gaurav Kakkar.

http://www.facebook.com/saadahaqmovie

http://www.saddahaqmovie.com

 

[Courtesy: Times of India. Edited for sikhchic.com]

November 2, 2012

Conversation about this article

1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), November 02, 2012, 12:07 PM.

Interesting title! On Vaisakhi Day 1699 one man liberated a nation from tyranny and superstition and created a revolution ... he told us: It is our birthright to pick up the sword if all peaceful means fail in stopping evil and injustice!

2: A J Singh (San Francisco, California, U.S.A.), November 02, 2012, 1:24 PM.

Imagine, if a movie like 'Schindler's List' were to be banned! Banning artistic expression is one of the worst crimes any democracy can commit against its own citizens. I have always been troubled by the way India has repeatedly denied any justice to the victims of 1984 and actively distorts the history of the events surrounding the November 1984 pogrom against Sikhs.

3: I. Singh (Chelmsford, MA, USA), November 02, 2012, 5:14 PM.

I am not an avid viewer of Bollywood nor Punjabiwood films. However, the makers of Saadda Haq should immediately cease all operations to get the movie released in India. On the other hand, every single Sikh and Punjabi diaspora organization (hint - Sikh film festival organizations) or individuals that have the necessary resources should take this project on. Pass this through the regular gauntlet of all the major film festivals worldwide, organize community screenings and get the movie makers their necessary payback and profits they deserve, and then release pirated versions back in India. But only after it has been successfully screened in major Sikh diaspora countries. This is the most ridiculous and obvious case of discrimination against Sikh and Punjabi interests I have seen in recent times.

4: Daljit Singh (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada), November 02, 2012, 5:17 PM.

Would have been surprised if it wasn't banned. What do you expect of a government and society that has become devoid of any values, ethics and decency? I am surprised they did not attribute it to propaganda by terrorists.

5: Kanwarjeet Singh (Franklin Park, New Jersey, USA), November 02, 2012, 10:04 PM.

Funny, isn't it - they ask us to forget and move ahead but they themselves cannot forget it. Load the movie on Youtube, iTunes and every single portal and let these bastards try to prevent that. Hold press conferences in the US, Australia, Canada, UK and invite premier media persons and tell them the hypocrisy that India is. Every single day I am more and more convinced that we are stupid to continue to resort to peaceful ways for our rights -- all peaceful ways have, I believe, now been exhausted.

6: Jaspreet (Canada), November 02, 2012, 11:36 PM.

A lot is banned in India. Even the book "Soft Target" is banned there. All sorts of websites are too. It is a nation that is scared of people getting ideas that it doesn't spoonfeed to them itself. Hasn't the Brahmin tradition always been this way? The Brahmins put red hot irons into the ears of low caste people if they even accidentally heard religious discourse - the Hindu texts prescribed this treatment as valid. They kept the knowledge for a small elite only and even today the masses are hoodwinked by them through knowledge manufactured just for fools. Even idol worship is really for fools as it is considered that the common people are not mentally capable of worshiping an abstract god. When knowledge is so jealously guarded for centuries by a small elite, of course such a nation will continue to put the tether on ideas and also will think it can manage people by giving them all sorts of information it wants. One example that makes me shake my head is all these Hindu people who go and get their hair shaved off at the temples doing it on the basis of some mythology. The Brahmins don't tell them but sell the hair they get free, to the west for hair extensions, a billion dollar industry for them. Keep the masses in ignorance and ban, ban, ban. How else can you rip them off, continue to persecute them, etc?

7: Tinku (Punjab), November 03, 2012, 12:40 AM.

What else do you expect from the Indian govt? Truth hurts and they will do everything to make sure the truth is not exposed to the public. Just because the Censor Board of India has banned this movie in India, it should not stop Sikhs in the world to come together and make sure this movie is made public. They should pull resources to widely distribute this film. This way the person who made this movie is rewarded. Then they should ensure it is shown around the world. Finally go ahead and put this movie on Youtube so that everybody including Sikhs in India can watch it and understand what's going on.

8: Manpreet Singh (Hyderabad, India), November 03, 2012, 2:17 AM.

Anything directly or indirectly related to the government which can reveal the truth about it is banned in India. This is NOT the land of the FREE ... this is the land of poor, chained minds and hearts. People with free mind and thoughts are persecuted on a daily basis.

9: Gurjender Singh  (Maryland, USA ), November 03, 2012, 10:38 AM.

This is not the first time. Previously they banned films related to 1984 such as AMU and Havayein. But these were circulated as DVDs.

10: Charandeep Singh (Chandigarh, Punjab), November 03, 2012, 10:55 AM.

I agree with I. Singh ji. We should put in all our efforts to take this film to the masses ... everywhere.

11: Roop Dhillon (United Kingdom), November 03, 2012, 7:47 PM.

"Anhey ghore daa daan" was shown all over the world but India. No one I know in Punjab has even heard of it. "Khaamosh Paani" is another such film. The fact is anything that holds up a mirror about 1984 (except those films in which Sikhs are terrorists) will be banned in India. We just need to ensure the rest of the world see them. And learn that India is hoodwinking them into thinking that it deserves to be part of the BRIC economies ...

12: Gobinder Singh (USA), November 04, 2012, 1:57 PM.

Here is an idea! All Sikh websites and others who care about freedom, should directly sell or promote original DVDs of this movie. Everyone can order it and support such initiatives. The Indian govt. has not learned a key lesson from the Arab Spring. You cannot "ban" freedom of expression anymore!

13: Parvin (Santa Clara, California, USA), November 05, 2012, 1:37 AM.

You can make the digital version available on Youtube for a nominal price as well. That will cover the cost, and provide a well-deserved revenue stream.

14: Sartaj Singh (Dublin, Ireland), November 07, 2012, 9:13 PM.

Please recruit the help of the worldwide sangat to distribute this film widely.

15: Juan Leyva (Mexico City, Mexico), March 04, 2013, 12:50 PM.

The same thing happened in Mexico in 2010 with the movie "Presunto Culpable" in which we see how corrupt, how rotten the Mexican legal system is. Like that movie, I bet you could play this Sikh movie in Mexico easily. I would gladly watch it. I enjoyed "Hawaayein" - I'm sure this will be as good!

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Saadda Haq - Our Birthright"









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