Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'There is nothing wrong with the documentary' that was published in Newsband

There is nothing wrong with the documentary

Indians are busy debating whether the government’s action in getting a court order restraining the telecast of the documentary, India’s Daughter, by the British film-maker Leslee Udwin, is right or wrong. The work has been banned from public viewing for the sole reason that it contains some repugnant comments by the convict, blaming the victim for the rape and murder. The convict said that she could have survived had she not resisted rape.

In this documentary, the criminals do accept that they did crime, still our government needs time to decide the fate of this case. This documentary should be broadcast to make people realise the true perspectives and educate them to decide for themselves.

Get to the basics and make serious attempts in getting society's attitude towards young women. The government should send an Indian delegation to the Western countries to find out how Western males and females look at each other and accordingly bring about changes in the way Indian men and women look at each other.

Leslee Udwin is not a typical film director or a popular cinema producer but from journalism stream of BBC. She had managed to obtain 'No objection certification' letter from Home Ministry and the permission from the Jail authorities.

The ban is amateurish and immature. In fact, such remarks and reviews should be brought to light to make the society realise what mindset we Indians are living with. Instead of debating on how to make the streets safe for women and how to empower them, we are debating on banning the film.

Leslee Udwin did something which no Indian male or female journalist could do. She went and interviewed the convict. Only when one interviews the culprit you get to see that evil which actually resides in these people. These evils deserve to be eradicated. The documentary all the more justifies the death sentence given to them. The mind set has to change. The government is fighting hard for its country's embarrassment then for its very own women. Truth is bitter and the country has to face it. If really female dignity was important why is justice being delayed? It’s been more than a year and the culprits are still alive.

Udwin has attempted to highlight how the nation sweep down women's issues and problems perpetrated by the misogynists under the carpet, how the people in power 'frame charges and fix responsibilities' and kill freedom of speech. It is a well made film and extremely sensitive to the issue. The parents of Jyoti Singh were involved in the film and the film does bring out their pain and their anguish at the delay in the administration of justice. The parents despite their disadvantages have come across as extremely dignified and unrevengeful. They just want justice. More to the point is what one of the perpetrators' lawyers said. He said that plenty of those sitting in Parliament are guilty of similar crimes. But they will not be tried. Perhaps that hurts. Hence the ban.

The film doesn’t defame India. Yes, the Indian justice system would be offended, when it is pointed out it is sitting on a fast track case for this long.

It is abundantly clear from the documentary that those who commit such heinous crimes are not the ones who do any soul searching before or after the crime. This documentary is about as likely to prevent rape as a 9-11 documentary is at preventing future terror attacks.

People who want to see positive changes happening in Indian society should not be swayed by emotions. Every right thinking person would agree that Leslee Udwin's intention behind doing the documentary is not to malign our nation's image but instead to make the world come together for gender equality. the documentary has to be viewed by the people of the country not with the sense what the convict has to say but with a wider perspective, the various challenges that the Indian societies are victim of.

There are some hysterical feminists, who have an anti-male ideology, and want to shame Indian males through bad-mouthing one unfortunate incident. Why the government wants to ban the film? The documentarian is doing quite a bit in starting a dialogue and educating the society by very thought provoking portrayal of all the forces at work here - human emotions, dreams, poverty, power. Let the society debate what is right and wrong. Then law enforcement and legal departments will have much less work. The documentary should be seen as holding a mirror unto the society.