Film on Park Street rape case cleared for screening

A film based on the Park Street rape case, blocked by the censor board here, has been given the go-ahead by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, its producer said Friday.

The 107-minute Bengali film directed by Partha Mukherjee and produced by Debjani Roy was "banned" from being screened by the regional office of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on grounds that Kolkata's Raj-era Park Street was shown in "poor light" in the context of the rape incident, said Roy.

"The regional office of CBFC had banned the movie after we approached them in February this year. In the letter they had issued to us, there were seven to eight clauses under which they had objected. One of them was that the film depicted Park Street in a bad way," Roy told IANS.

Roy then approached the FCAT, which cleared the film July 10 under the Adult (A) category.

"The FCAT said the regional office could not ban a movie and infact, the grounds on which they had blocked it did not hold. FCAT made some minor changes, that's all," Roy said, adding she had to show the film twice to convince them.

"It shows the night life in Park Street, the people and also depicts the real incident," said Roy who hopes to release it next month.

An Anglo-Indian was allegedly sexually assaulted at gunpoint in a moving car in the early hours Feb 6, 2012, by a gang of five men.

The incident had sparked severe criticism for the Trinamool Congress-led state government.

The victim welcomed the clearance in the light that it would help create awareness.

"I hope the film would create awareness and inspire women to speak out," she told IANS.