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Unfreedom

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Unfreedom
English-language poster of the film
Directed byRaj Amit Kumar
Written byRaj Amit Kumar
Damon J Taylor
Produced byRaj Amit Kumar
StarringVictor Banerjee
Adil Hussain
Bhanu Uday
Preeti Gupta
Bhavani Lee
Ankur Vikal
Seema Rahmani
Samrat Chakrabarti
CinematographyHari Nair
Edited byAtanu Mukherjee
Music byWayne Sharpe
Jesse Kotansky
Production
companies
Dark Frames
69 Productions
Release dates
  • December 2014(2014-12)(Kerala International Film Festival)[1]
  • 29 May 2015(2015-05-29)
Running time
103 minutes
CountriesUnited States
India
LanguagesEnglish
Hindi

Unfreedom: Blemished light(Hindi title:Dagh Ujala) is a 2014 Indiandrama filmbyRaj Amit Kumar,[2]which was released in North America on 29 May 2015.[3]Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poem, "Ye Dagh Dagh Ujala", is the inspiration behind the film.[4]The film starsVictor Banerjee,[5]Adil Hussain.[6]andPreeti Gupta.[7]

The story revolves around a Muslim fundamentalist in New York who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar with an intent to kill, while a closetedlesbianin New Delhi kidnaps her bisexual lover with the intent of being together. Then the resulting torture and violence evokes a brutal struggle of identities against "unfreedom".[8]

Cast

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Production

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Hari Nair is the cinematographer of the film[13]with Wayne Sharpe[14]and Jesse Kotansky composing the soundtrack.Resul Pookutty[15]did the sound design. Deepa Bajaj, who also was the post-production producer, worked on the publicity campaign and distribution of the film.

In India, theCentral Board of Film Certificationrefused to certifythe movie for public release in India.[16]

Censorship

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In India, the film was refused certification by the Examining Committee. A revising committee of theCensor Boardproposed cuts to the director,Raj Amit Kumar.He refused and appealed against the Censor Board's demand for cuts to the Indian Government's Information and Broadcasting Appellate Tribunal FCAT. In response to his appeal, the authorities completely banned the film regardless of cuts.[17]The news of the ban gained widespread coverage in the media.[18][19]

In a video released on April 9, 2015 onYouTube,Raj Amit Kumar states that the Censor Board should rate or certify a movie, instead of banning and offering cuts. He also said that he would keep sending signed petitions to the Prime Minister and Censor Board, until there is a real change. The director is seeking support from people who believe in freedom of speech.[20]

References

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  1. ^https://in.news.yahoo /banned-india-unfreedom-released-north-america-054618002.html|2015-02-11
  2. ^"American Indian director Amit to make BLEMISHED LIGHT".6 July 2011.Retrieved21 February2013.
  3. ^"Dark Frames to Release 'Unfreedom,' Starring Victor Banerjee".The Hollywood Reporter.10 February 2015.
  4. ^"Victor Banerjee to star inBlemished Light".6 July 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 27 March 2012.Retrieved21 February2013.
  5. ^"'Today, no one respects age, experience, talent or discipline'".17 July 2011.Retrieved21 February2013.
  6. ^"'Grey Matter – Bollywood's latest discovery – Adil Hussain seeks complex roles in the industry'".28 December 2012.Retrieved28 February2013.
  7. ^"IIT SCREENS BANNED FILM ABOUT LESBIANS".
  8. ^"Raj Amit Kumar to use crowdfunding campaign to release his film, Unfreedom".17 February 2015.
  9. ^"I am fortunate I am still fresh" Upcoming movies of Bhanu Uday ".17 July 2011.Retrieved1 October2012.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^K, Bhumika (18 June 2015)."Preeti Gupta: A bold portrayal".The Hindu.
  11. ^"Actor Bhavani Lee shoots for 'Blemished Light'".25 November 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 3 July 2015.Retrieved1 December2012.
  12. ^"American Indian director Amit to make BLEMISHED LIGHT".17 July 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2013.Retrieved21 February2013.
  13. ^"Hit by the shutter bug".The Times of India.18 October 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 11 April 2013.Retrieved21 June2012.
  14. ^"Wayne Sharpe: American composer in Bollywood".CNN.15 June 2010.Retrieved14 September2013.
  15. ^"America has banned more films than India: Resul Pookutty".Hindustan Times.1 April 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 1 April 2015.Retrieved3 April2015.
  16. ^"Film on Homosexuality UnFreedom Banned in India".Outlook.30 March 2015.Retrieved3 April2015.
  17. ^"BOARD BANS FILM ON GAYS, CLAIMS IT'LL IGNITE 'UNNATURAL PASSION'".Mumbai Mirror.28 March 2015.Retrieved3 April2015.
  18. ^"After Unfreedom Ban, filmmakers come together in the fight against Censorship".Times Now.1 April 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 7 April 2015.Retrieved3 April2015.
  19. ^"Film review: Un-Freedom".Batori.28 June 2015.Retrieved28 June2015.
  20. ^"'Unfreedom' director calls for freedom of expression ".Times of India.14 April 2015.Retrieved14 April2015.
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