Independent filmmaker Chhatrapal Ninawe got his big break when Jio Studios agreed to produce his Marathi film, Ghaath. The film was co-produced by Drishyam Films. The film which was completed in 2019 was selected for the National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) ‘Work-In-Progress Lab’ and won the Prasad Lab DI and Moviebuff Appreciation awards. On January 21, 2021, the film was selected to premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival’s Panorama section. However, Chhatrapal’s joy was short-lived as the film was withdrawn from the prestigious film festival days after it was selected.
Chhatrapal Ninawe recently took to his Instagram handle to share his ordeal. In an elaborate post, he accused Jio Studios of withdrawing the films’ selection at the Berlin Film Festival. “On Feb 4, 2021, Jio Studios sent a legal restraining order to Berlinale, effectively asking them to drop the film from the selection. We sent frantic emails. No explanations were given. Drishyam Films even offered to buy back the film completely. Jio Studios instead sent a legal notice and banned them from applying to any other film festivals. A Berlin Curator told me that such a thing has not happened in her career spanning 28 years,” Chhatrapal wrote.
“Jio Studios did not even apply for Censor Board for Film Certification (CBFC) certification. So basically after 25 months of funding the film work, few corporate executives decided to ban the film themselves, just when it was invited to Berlinale and won the NFDC’s WIP lab award. It is almost #Kafkaesque. I am sure that Ghaath will easily clear CBFC certification. Because the film is foremost a personal story, rather than an ideological film. The film 1) Do not have an anti-India message 2) is definitely not a pro-Maoist film 3) does not promote hate 4)does not abuse or target any caste, tribe, and community. 5) does not disturb communal harmony,” he further wrote.
“After this fiasco, I have waited for a resolution for almost another 15 months now. I have tried to communicate with them through various channels. It was the darkest part of my life. My dreams were shattered and could not even afford therapy. When Ghaath should have been celebrated by the Indian and Marathi film industry, it was being murdered right in front of eyes. How can I keep sanity when my baby is being murdered? Whatever happened with Ghaath is blatant discrimination. And I have decided to fight against this. I demand Jio studios to release Ghaath,” he concluded his note.
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Chhatrapal also attached screenshots of messages from producer Jyoti Deshpande (Viacom18 chief) and Manish Mundra(Drishyam Films). He also attached the screenshot of the mails he penned to the team of Jio Studios.
When Bollywood Hungama reached out to Jio Studios to know where they stand on the matter, their spokesperson stated, “Jio Studios is committed to responsible storytelling and is working with more than 50 filmmakers across 120+ multilingual stories as we speak. It is our endeavour to extend the best possible support to our partners and filmmakers to achieve the highest critical and commercial success that every story deserves. We have an ongoing legal dispute with Producer Drishyam Films on a multi film deal due to which we will abstain from making any specific media clarifications. However, we want to expressly clarify that we have no dispute with any director. We deny all baseless allegations against us.”
Meanwhile, it is to be noted that another film produced by Jio Studios and Drishyam Films titled Aadhaar (starring Vineet Kumar) ran into censorship troubles when the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) imposed 28 cuts on it. This was after the film was cleared by the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification).
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