After weeks of uncertainty, Malayalam film S Durga will not be screened at the International Film Festival Of India. IFFI jury had complained to CBFC regarding the change in film&#39;s title and CBFC has now sent a letter to the film&#39;s makers announcing that the film will not be screened at the festival, which ends today.&nbsp;

A screening of the censored version of the film was held for the jury on Monday and in a letter dated today, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) wrote to the producers asking them to resubmit the movie, which was earlier given a U/A certificate. 
 
The bone of contention seems to be the hashtag that follow the letter &quot;S&quot; in the revised title of the movie, which was earlier named Sexy Durga. 
 
&quot;It appears that you have prima facie, deliberately violated the Rule 33 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 and hence invocation of Section 5E(1) (i) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 may be considered. 
 
&quot;In this connection, I am directed to inform you that the above film will be re-examined under the provision of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983, with the date and venue being notified to you soon,&quot; said the letter, which was addressed to Shaji Mathew, the producer of the film. 
 
The letter stated that the board had &quot;received complaints from the IFFI jury at Goa over the title of the film&quot;. 
 
According to the letter, the director had shown S### Durga&nbsp;on the title card which the board says &quot;has totally different implications and are effectively undermining and attempting to defeat the very basis of the title registration and changes effected thereby&quot;. 
 
The CBFC said the makers cannot exhibit the film further until the board reexamines it. It said a suitable date and time will be conveyed to the makers soon.&nbsp;

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CBFC letter sent to the makers of S Durga (ANI)
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Immediately after the CBFC order, IFFI director Sunit Tandon wrote to Sanal, notifying him that the movie will not be showcased due to the CBFC&#39;s intervention. 
 
&quot;This is to inform you that all steps were taken to ensure compliance with the hon&#39;ble court&#39;s order and a screening of the certified version of your film S Durga&nbsp;was arranged last evening for the feature film jury for the Indian Panorama 2017 as duly constituted by the Ministry of Information &amp; Broadcasting. 
 
&quot;Following the screening certain issues related to the certification of the film with reference to the title of the film were raised. This was referred to the CBFC for clarification. In response to the queries, CBFC has issued the orders attached herewith.

&quot;As a consequence to the orders of CBFC, the film cannot be exhibited till the issues are resolved,&quot; he wrote. 
 
The film was dropped from the final IFFI list by the Information and Broadcasting ministry, prompting the director to move to the Kerala High Court. 
 
The court ruled in Sanal&#39;s favour and directed the ministry to screen the film at the festival and the ministry tried to obtain a stay order on the Kerala High Court&#39;s decision but it was denied by the court.

Earlier in the day, Sanal said a majority of members of the Indian Panorama jury voted in favour of his film screened after watching its censored version last night.

&quot;I got to know that seven of the members were in favour of the screening of S Durga, but three new members on the panel as well one of the old members opposed the screening,&quot; Sanal claimed. 
 
The three new members Sudhir Chaudhary, Satish Kaushik and Vivek Agnihotri -- were inducted in the jury after its chairman Sujoy Ghosh and members Apurva Asrani and Gyan Correa resigned in protest over the exclusion of S Durga&nbsp;and Nude&nbsp;from the festival. 
 
Filmmaker Rahul Rawail was appointed as the new chairman of the Indian Panorama section.&nbsp;

The bone of contention seems to be the hashtag that follow the letter "S" in the revised title of the movie, which was earlier named Sexy Durga

After weeks of uncertainty, Malayalam film S Durga will not be screened at the International Film Festival Of India. IFFI jury had complained to CBFC regarding the change in film's title and CBFC has now sent a letter to the film's makers announcing that the film will not be screened at the festival, which ends today. A screening of the censored version of the film was held for the jury on Monday and in a letter dated today, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) wrote to the producers asking them to resubmit the movie, which was earlier given a U/A certificate. The bone of contention seems to be the hashtag that follow the letter "S" in the revised title of the movie, which was earlier named Sexy Durga. "It appears that you have prima facie, deliberately violated the Rule 33 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 and hence invocation of Section 5E(1) (i) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 may be considered. "In this connection, I am directed to inform you that the above film will be re-examined under the provision of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983, with the date and venue being notified to you soon," said the letter, which was addressed to Shaji Mathew, the producer of the film. The letter stated that the board had "received complaints from the IFFI jury at Goa over the title of the film". According to the letter, the director had shown S### Durga on the title card which the board says "has totally different implications and are effectively undermining and attempting to defeat the very basis of the title registration and changes effected thereby". The CBFC said the makers cannot exhibit the film further until the board reexamines it. It said a suitable date and time will be conveyed to the makers soon. CBFC letter sent to the makers of S Durga (ANI) × Immediately after the CBFC order, IFFI director Sunit Tandon wrote to Sanal, notifying him that the movie will not be showcased due to the CBFC's intervention. "This is to inform you that all steps were taken to ensure compliance with the hon'ble court's order and a screening of the certified version of your film S Durga was arranged last evening for the feature film jury for the Indian Panorama 2017 as duly constituted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. "Following the screening certain issues related to the certification of the film with reference to the title of the film were raised. This was referred to the CBFC for clarification. In response to the queries, CBFC has issued the orders attached herewith. "As a consequence to the orders of CBFC, the film cannot be exhibited till the issues are resolved," he wrote. The film was dropped from the final IFFI list by the Information and Broadcasting ministry, prompting the director to move to the Kerala High Court. The court ruled in Sanal's favour and directed the ministry to screen the film at the festival and the ministry tried to obtain a stay order on the Kerala High Court's decision but it was denied by the court. Earlier in the day, Sanal said a majority of members of the Indian Panorama jury voted in favour of his film screened after watching its censored version last night. "I got to know that seven of the members were in favour of the screening of S Durga, but three new members on the panel as well one of the old members opposed the screening," Sanal claimed. The three new members Sudhir Chaudhary, Satish Kaushik and Vivek Agnihotri -- were inducted in the jury after its chairman Sujoy Ghosh and members Apurva Asrani and Gyan Correa resigned in protest over the exclusion of S Durga and Nude from the festival. Filmmaker Rahul Rawail was appointed as the new chairman of the Indian Panorama section.

It is official. IFFI will not screen Malayalam film 'S Durga'; CBFC orders reexamination

After days of uncertainty over the screening of S Durga at the ongoing International Film Festival Of India, the festival director&nbsp;Sunil Tandon has finally sent a letter to the film&rsquo;s director Sanal Sasidharan asking him to submit the censored copy of the film for screening.

A spokesperson for the filmmaker said on Saturday that the required documents and film copies would be submitted to the IFFI organisers by the afternoon.

The film was unceremoniously dropped from the festival last week despite being chosen by the 13 member jury. Marathi film Nude was also dropped. Sasidharan had appealed to the court to intervene.

Earlier this week, the Kerala High Court directed IFFI to screen the film at the festival. Sasidharan had later stated that despite court order the film wasn&rsquo;t being screened at the festival taking place in Goa.

The film was unceremoniously dropped from the festival last week despite being chosen by the 13 member jury

After days of uncertainty over the screening of S Durga at the ongoing International Film Festival Of India, the festival director Sunil Tandon has finally sent a letter to the film’s director Sanal Sasidharan asking him to submit the censored copy of the film for screening. A spokesperson for the filmmaker said on Saturday that the required documents and film copies would be submitted to the IFFI organisers by the afternoon. The film was unceremoniously dropped from the festival last week despite being chosen by the 13 member jury. Marathi film Nude was also dropped. Sasidharan had appealed to the court to intervene. Earlier this week, the Kerala High Court directed IFFI to screen the film at the festival. Sasidharan had later stated that despite court order the film wasn’t being screened at the festival taking place in Goa.

IFFI asks 'S Durga' director to submit censored copy to festival

Marathi filmmaker Ravi Jadhav said he felt as if he was slapped when his film Nude&nbsp;was pulled out from the Indian Panorama section of the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI). 
 
The director said the information and broadcasting ministry&#39;s decision to pull out Malayalam movie S Durga&nbsp;and his Marathi film Nude, overruling the recommendation of the 13-member jury of the Panorama section, was highly disappointing. 
 
&quot;What is happening in the last few days is highly disappointing. In this film, in a particular sequence an artist gets slapped, unfortunately, I feel like the reel artist who was at the receiving end,&quot; the director wrote on his Facebook page.

&quot;... Yet I feel hopeful and optimistic like all other artists,&quot; said Jadhav, who has made films like Banjo&nbsp;(2016) and Timepass&nbsp;(2014). 
 
Jadhav posted the teaser of Nude&nbsp;online after his film failed to make the cut. The movie depicts the struggle of a woman secretly working as a nude model in Mumbai.&nbsp;&quot;This is a teaser of the film Nude, the film that got striked (struck) out by the Information and Broadcasting ministry thus giving rise to debate and controversy,&quot; he wrote.

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Jadhav also expressed his gratitude to the IFFI jury, media and his friends from the industry who came out in support of him after the film was dropped from the festival.&nbsp;&quot;I have sincerely made this film,&quot; he said sharing the link of the teaser. 
 
After the ministry&#39;s decision to drop the two films, three jury members - filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh, head of the jury of IFFI&#39;s Indian Panorama section, scriptwriter Apurva Asrani and filmmaker Gyan Correa - resigned.&nbsp;Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is the chief of a nodal agency for the IFFI, yesterday said Nude&nbsp;did not have the censor board certificate. 
 
&quot;What information I have got is that the film Nude&nbsp;is not a complete movie. It is without a censorship certificate, so we cannot show it in the IFFI. We can&#39;t show the film without the censorship certificate,&quot; Parrikar told reporters in Panaji. 
 
He also said the decision to drop S Durga&nbsp;from the festival, which will run from November 20-28, was taken to avoid hurting the sentiments of any community. 
 
&quot;The film was part of two festivals, including MAMI in Mumbai and Kerala Film Festival, but it was shown after adequate cuts to avoid any feelings to be hurt. It was submitted to IFFI without any cuts,&quot; Parrikar said.&nbsp;He said, according to the rules of the festival, a film cannot be shown with cuts at IFFI.&nbsp;S Durga, which was earlier titled Sexy Durga, is a road movie that follows the horrifying experience of two hitchhikers, a man and a woman, at the hands of two men. It won the Hivos Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2017. 
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Marathi filmmaker Ravi Jadhav said he felt as if he was slapped when his film Nude?was pulled out from the Indian Panorama section of the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Marathi filmmaker Ravi Jadhav said he felt as if he was slapped when his film Nude was pulled out from the Indian Panorama section of the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The director said the information and broadcasting ministry's decision to pull out Malayalam movie S Durga and his Marathi film Nude, overruling the recommendation of the 13-member jury of the Panorama section, was highly disappointing. "What is happening in the last few days is highly disappointing. In this film, in a particular sequence an artist gets slapped, unfortunately, I feel like the reel artist who was at the receiving end," the director wrote on his Facebook page. "... Yet I feel hopeful and optimistic like all other artists," said Jadhav, who has made films like Banjo (2016) and Timepass (2014). Jadhav posted the teaser of Nude online after his film failed to make the cut. The movie depicts the struggle of a woman secretly working as a nude model in Mumbai. "This is a teaser of the film Nude, the film that got striked (struck) out by the Information and Broadcasting ministry thus giving rise to debate and controversy," he wrote. × Jadhav also expressed his gratitude to the IFFI jury, media and his friends from the industry who came out in support of him after the film was dropped from the festival. "I have sincerely made this film," he said sharing the link of the teaser. After the ministry's decision to drop the two films, three jury members - filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh, head of the jury of IFFI's Indian Panorama section, scriptwriter Apurva Asrani and filmmaker Gyan Correa - resigned. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is the chief of a nodal agency for the IFFI, yesterday said Nude did not have the censor board certificate. "What information I have got is that the film Nude is not a complete movie. It is without a censorship certificate, so we cannot show it in the IFFI. We can't show the film without the censorship certificate," Parrikar told reporters in Panaji. He also said the decision to drop S Durga from the festival, which will run from November 20-28, was taken to avoid hurting the sentiments of any community. "The film was part of two festivals, including MAMI in Mumbai and Kerala Film Festival, but it was shown after adequate cuts to avoid any feelings to be hurt. It was submitted to IFFI without any cuts," Parrikar said. He said, according to the rules of the festival, a film cannot be shown with cuts at IFFI. S Durga, which was earlier titled Sexy Durga, is a road movie that follows the horrifying experience of two hitchhikers, a man and a woman, at the hands of two men. It won the Hivos Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2017.

'Nude' director Ravi Jadhav hopeful despite disappointment over IFFI controversy

In another fallout of the information and broadcasting ministry dropping two films from IFFI&#39;s Indian Panorama section, scriptwriter Apurva Asrani announced today that he was resigning as jury member.&nbsp;Asrani&#39;s resignation comes a day after filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh said he had quit as chairperson of the Indian Panorama jury. 
 
Asrani said his conscience doesn&#39;t allow him to participate in the film festival, being held in Goa from November 20-28. 
 
&quot;I stand with the chairman of the jury. We had a responsibility towards some very sincere films, and somewhere we have failed them. My conscience won&#39;t allow me to participate in the festivities in Goa,&quot; he said in a statement.

Filmmaker Gyan Correa also submitted his resignation. 
 
When contacted, the Aligarh&nbsp;scriptwriter confirmed that he had resigned but said he would not like to elaborate further. 
 
The information and broadcasting ministry has overruled the recommendation of the 13-member jury and pulled out Malayalam movie S Durga&nbsp;and Marathi film Nude&nbsp;from the 48th edition of the International Film Festival of India.

The jury submitted its list to the ministry on September 20-21, but the line-up was made public only recently and without the name of the two films, a jury member disclosed. 
 
Yesterday, S Durga&nbsp;director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan filed a petition in the Kerala High Court against the ministry and IFFI officials.&nbsp; 
 
The respondents in his petition include the Union of India, represented by the secretary to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Directorate of Film Festivals, Chairman, Jury for Feature Films and the Indian Panorama, 48th International Film Festival of India, Goa.&nbsp;

Scriptwriter Apurva Asrani and filmmaker Gyan Correa announced their resignations Wednesday

In another fallout of the information and broadcasting ministry dropping two films from IFFI's Indian Panorama section, scriptwriter Apurva Asrani announced today that he was resigning as jury member. Asrani's resignation comes a day after filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh said he had quit as chairperson of the Indian Panorama jury. Asrani said his conscience doesn't allow him to participate in the film festival, being held in Goa from November 20-28. "I stand with the chairman of the jury. We had a responsibility towards some very sincere films, and somewhere we have failed them. My conscience won't allow me to participate in the festivities in Goa," he said in a statement. Filmmaker Gyan Correa also submitted his resignation. When contacted, the Aligarh scriptwriter confirmed that he had resigned but said he would not like to elaborate further. The information and broadcasting ministry has overruled the recommendation of the 13-member jury and pulled out Malayalam movie S Durga and Marathi film Nude from the 48th edition of the International Film Festival of India. The jury submitted its list to the ministry on September 20-21, but the line-up was made public only recently and without the name of the two films, a jury member disclosed. Yesterday, S Durga director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan filed a petition in the Kerala High Court against the ministry and IFFI officials. The respondents in his petition include the Union of India, represented by the secretary to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Directorate of Film Festivals, Chairman, Jury for Feature Films and the Indian Panorama, 48th International Film Festival of India, Goa.

IFFI 2017: After Sujoy Ghosh, two more jury members resign