After getting stuck for almost two years because of its title, ‘Gaja Baja’ now has a release date.
After the Film Development Board (FDB) denied to register the film because of the word ‘Gaja’ in its title, the makers had taken the matter to the supreme court – going against the decision of the board.
While the verdict is yet to come from the court, the makers of the film have went ahead and announced a release date for the film – March 9, 2018. Directed by ‘Manjari’ fame Ganesh Dev Panday, the film stars Anupam Sharma, Sushil Sitaula and Barsha Siwakoti.
“With the new members in the board, FDB is now positive about the film’s release and we might get a green signal soon”, Panday told NeoStuffs. However, the film’s unit and FDB are still waiting on the court’s final verdict, which is expected to come next month.
Even though the film already has got a release date and is likely to get a positive response from the court and FDB; the path to the theaters still doesn’t seem smooth for the film as it still has to face another possible obstacle – the censor board.
“Yes, we still have quite a long way to go as we still have to go through the censor board”, said Panday. “I don’t understand why do we have to take permission to make art. ”
“We have such a strict censorship that there is a long list of words that we cannot use, quite common words as well, not just the abusive ones. We have to take permission from the police if we have any scene in the film that shows cops involved in negative activities. It’s ridiculous that there are so many restrictions.”
“Cinema is the reflection of our society and we can’t even show what’s actually happening in our society”, Panday further says. A song titled ‘Tripping On Happy Mood’ and a short teaser of the film were released on YouTube earlier this year and both of them were taken down. “I have no idea what the reason was and who was behind it”, he says.
He recalls the time he was so frustrated that he thought of simply releasing the film on YouTube. “If there was no money involved from anyone else and I had the full right, I would have simply released it online. I want the audience to see my film. Delaying it isn’t helping.”
For now, Panday is happy that at least something positive has happened and he is hopeful that the audience will be able to watch it soon. He is working on ‘Tripping On Happy Mood’ song, re-editing it before it is released on YouTube again. A theatrical trailer, too, is on its way and is expected to be dropped in a month or so.
The film and the people involved, more particularly Ganesh Dev Panday, have gone through a lot already and we hope there won’t be any more hurdles ahead.
