Shashi Tharoor Criticizes Centre's Ban on Films at Kerala Festival: Bureaucratic Censorship Undermines India's Cultural Image

Shashi Tharoor has criticized the Central government amid the ongoing Kerala film festival controversy.

The senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP has condemned the Centre's decision to prevent the screening of 19 films at the International Film Festival of Kerala, stating that the list indicates an "extraordinary degree of cinematic illiteracy on the part of the bureaucracy".

Tharoor revealed that the initial list of films denied clearance was considerably longer, with many subsequently approved after his meeting with Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, which was arranged at the request of Oscar-winning sound designer and festival chairman Resul Pookutty.

"To deny clearance to a classic like 'Battleship Potemkin', a 1928 film on the Russian Revolution which has been viewed by literally hundreds of millions around the world (and in India) over the last century, is laughable. Denying permission to some Palestinian films reflects bureaucratic over-cautiousness rather than the cultural breadth of vision that should be involved when it comes to world cinema," Tharoor stated in a post on X.

"I have urged both I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and EAM (External Affairs Minister) Dr S Jaishankar to grant expeditious clearance and avoid any further embarrassment in the eyes of the cinema lovers of Kerala, and of the world," he added.

In his conversation with NDTV, the Congress leader expressed further concerns: "I really think this is an unfortunate development. Kerala has a very knowledgeable cinematic culture. Clearance has never been an issue before."

"No film should be denied (permission). Some of these films have actually been screened in India before. So it is petty of us to bring in these kinds of considerations. Some of the earlier films that were banned or prevented from getting clearance... it was laughable. There was a film that's 100 years old that is available on YouTube. How can you suddenly say, don't show it in the film festival?" he questioned.

"You have a film called Beef. It is not about cow slaughter. It is actually about a rap artist. They banned it because they saw the title. Our bureaucrats have to develop a more refined sensibility because it is India's image that is at stake," Tharoor emphasized.

The Congress MP suggested that the world would appreciate Indian culture "if we behave accordingly," adding that "our bureaucrats have to really grow up and appreciate that this country is much larger than the rulebook that they are following."

Previously, the Kerala government had instructed the festival organizers to screen all selected films. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the Centre's denial of clearance as "unacceptable," declaring that "Enlightened Kerala will not give in to such censorship. All films that have been denied permission to be screened will be shown at the festival."