Caught in Censor Board Controversy, Manoj Bajpai’s ‘Aligarh’ Deserves a Universal Audience

I can think of no better time or place for the release when more films about human rights and equality are desperately needed.

[Photo Source: Facebook/AligarhTheFilm]

If you have been following Bollywood news recently, you might be aware of the controversy that has surrounded the recently released trailer for the upcoming film, “Aligarh.” Starring Manoj Bajpai and Rajkummar Rao, “Aligarh” is based on the true story of Marathi literature professor Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, who is portrayed by Bajpai in the film.

On February 8, 2010, Professor Siras was “caught” in the act of having consensual sex with another man. He was subsequently suspended from Aligarh Muslim University for what university officials considered a morally reprehensible scandal. The film chronicles Professor Siras’s life at AMU and his subsequent court appeal of the university’s suspension—with Rajkummar Rao as the journalist who comes to AMU to seek out Siras’s story.

While this gives away some of the plot, in real life, Professor Siras actually won his case against AMU because, by 2009, the Delhi High Court had ruled Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional—thus effectively decriminalizing homosexuality in India. That is until 2013, when the 2009 judgment was overturned, with the Supreme Court of India determining that repealing or amending Section 377 should be a decision made by India’s Parliament. In 2016, homosexuality is still considered a criminal offense in India.

I can think of no better time or place for the release of “Aligarh” than right now, when more films about the importance of human rights and equality are desperately needed. But sadly, India’s censor board has already tried to cut down the number of Indians who can see this movie (or even its promos) by giving “Aligarh” an “A” rating (adult) because it deals with the topic of same-sex relationships. This basically translates to an NC-17 rating, as we know it here, because of the subject matter covered. It places “Aligarh’s” nuanced retelling of a very important story in the same category as the recently released adult sex comedy, “Mastizaade,” which starred Sunny Leone, Vir Das, and Tusshar Kapoor.

‘Aligarh’ gets an ‘A’ rating, censor chief says homosexuality illegal. Childish homophobia? Will Supreme Court save the day #Scrap377

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) February 1, 2016

#TrendingonFP ‘A’ certificate for #Aligarh? CBFC chief Nihalani’s sanskar makes no sense https://t.co/tSYlbb1B1r pic.twitter.com/KhLQTJGpuh — Firstpost (@firstpost) February 1, 2016

The trailer of #Aligarh got an A rating but the motion poster of Ishq Forever can be displayed everywhere ??????? #ComeOut — swagata (@swagatanaik) January 31, 2016

Great job #CBFC by giving trailer of #Aligarh an A rating helped it reach more people than it would have in normal course @mehtahansal

— Dedh_Shaana (@apurvme) January 31, 2016

#GrowUpCensorBoard trends on social media after #Aligarh trailer gets ‘A’ certificate. A throwback to why India’s… https://t.co/mTJXZTrXJE

— Leena Manimekalai (@LeenaManimekali) February 1, 2016

The filmmakers are obviously protesting the censor board’s pathetic attempt at knocking the movie down. And while I do not know much about “Aligarh,” all that I have seen is enough for me to want as many Indians as possible to watch the movie.

The movie has been making rounds of the film festival circuit since October 2015 when it had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. From there, it made its European premiere at the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival before opening in Mumbai at the JioMAMI Mumbai Festival. Hansal Mehta’s direction and Apurva Asrani’s writing have both received almost universal praise, and “Aligarh” overall has been getting rave reviews from everybody who has already been fortunate enough to see the film.

Here’s hoping the rating gets changed and Indians of all ages are able to watch what seems to be a very promising film when it releases at the end of February.