Tough to make any film in India today
India, Sept. 16 -- After being embroiled in controversy, Paresh Rawal's upcoming biopic on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will finally see the light of day. The Bombay High Court recently gave the green light to Ajey: The Untold Story of A Yogi, despite the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) initially denying it a certificate.
Considering the knee-jerk reactions films with sensitive subjects attract, is it difficult to make a 'political' film in India now? "It's tough to make any film, aisa lag raha hai mujhe toh abhi," the actor replies, adding, "Social media kisi ke bhi upar haawi ho jaata hai. But if your neeyat and neeti are good, and the film has been made with honesty, then you should not think about people's opinions. I'd never be able to understand what each person [in the audience] wants, I can only make something that I like."
Speaking about the CBFC's objections, Paresh says, "Yogi ji jaisa character hai toh maamla critical ho jata hai, CBFC saavdhan rehti hai. During the proceedings the court asked their lawyer, 'Have you watched the film or read the book it's based on?' He had not."
There's a common perception that biopic makers tend to whitewash their subject; bring it up with Paresh, whose film Sanju (2018) faced similar criticism and he shares, "[Sanjay Dutt] is still alive and working. And this film's story goes up to when Yogi ji reached politics. Jo public mein hai usko aap untold nahin bol sakte. There's nothing to whitewash here."...
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