MUMBAI, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Documentary filmmakers have begun using the upcoming International Film Festival of India as a battleground against government censorship policy.
On the eve of the festival's Thursday launch, renowned Indian filmmakers Anand Patwardhan and Rakesh Sharma are leading a new opposition against censorship, aimed at promoting free expression through cinema, said the Indo-Asian News Service.
The anti-censorship movement comes after the country's top court rejected rules offered up by the National Film Awards in June.
"It is most unfortunate that the government has not understood the spirit and logic behind the High Court judgment on the National Film Awards," said Patwardhan.
"Several documentaries that won international awards are totally missing from the (IFFI 2006) Indian Panorama list," said Sharma, who added that such films have already won other international awards.
The news agency reported that the Supreme Court of India allows for film censorship when any film is judged to have just as much potential influence toward evil thoughts and action as good by its viewers.
