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Tagore flick producer moves HC

Tandon has filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court alleging that his film was rejected by the IFFI jury from the Indian Panorama section.

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The alleged relationship between Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and his sister-in-law Kadambari Devi has remained confined to the realm of hushed whispers.

But Satish Tandon, producer of the Chirosakha He (My Soulmate), a Bengali film that delves into Tagore’s fascination with his muse, is not shying away from making a noise about his film being left out of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which flags off today at Goa.

Tandon has filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court alleging that his film was rejected by the IFFI jury from the Indian Panorama section as it deals with an “uncomfortable” issue.

In a bizarre allegation, Tandon’s petition states that three of the jury members belong to West Bengal and were thus biased against the film which delves into a grey aspect of Tagore’s life.

Satayajit Ray’s acclaimed film Charulata is based on Tagore’s story Nastanirh (The Broken Nest), which is believed to be an autobiographical account of Tagore’s relationship with Kadambari, his elder brother’s wife.

Tandon’s lawyer Mukesh Vashi told the court on Thursday that his client’s film had been screened and appreciated at various national and international film fests.

He questioned the qualifications of some of the jury members stating that they did not have the required experience in film-making to be part of the selection panel. Vashi stated that a rejection by the IFFI could also dampen the film’s chances at other international film fests.

However, advocates Rui Rodrigues and Advait Sethna, who represented the Directorate of Film Festivals and the information and broadcasting ministry, pointed out the jury had been appointed following the required procedure.

The jury was divided into two panels, which finally selected 21 feature films out of a total of 119 entries. They also pointed out that contrary to Tandon’s allegation the jury had only one Bengali member.

Chief justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice JP Devadhar have reserved the matter for judgment.

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