No government has the right to censor an artist: Saleh Bakri

Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri says no government in the world has the right to stifle creativity and artistes have the power to oppose the move.
The 38-year-year-old "The Band's Visit" actor, took a decision to stop working in Israeli plays and films in 2009 after he saw his father, filmmaker Mohammad Bakri, suffer "10 years of persecution" for showing tragedies of the refugees in his movie.
"My father went through 10 years of persecution for making a film which showed the tragedies of the refugees. His life story affected me...
"No government in the world has a right to censor any artiste or film, but an artiste has the right to stand and say no to the government, in order to preserve freedom of speech and creative liberty," Saleh told PTI.

The actor is a jury member of the India Gold Section at the 17th MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
"I don't believe in boycott as an idea because I believe in unity, freedom and love. But in order to preserve it, you need to sometimes boycott a government or stand against an oppressive move," Saleh added.

The "Salvo" actor believes cinema has the power to bridge gaps in the world and narrates how his village in Palestine refers to Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan as "Sholay" for his iconic 1975 film.
"When the people of my village got to know that I will be going to Mumbai, they said 'Say hello to Sholay'. They don't know his (Bachchan) name but they call him that, from the movie.

"I was so happy when I met the writer (Javed Akhtar). I wish I could meet him (Bachchan) too and say people in my village say hello.