In case you haven't noticed, artistic freedom or creative expression is under threat in India at the moment. As stand-up comedian Daniel Fernandes puts it, this rather peculiar disease called ‘offensivitis’ has been affecting scores of the Indian population. It is rather self-explanatory, people affected by the disease get easily offended at everything. Unlike COVID-19, it is no longer novel, as it has been around for a few years now. There have been several incidents highlighting this phenomenon, and have had a fair share of mainstream media’s attention as well.
Infringements of freedom of expression have been on the rise lately, and debates and discussions on the topic are galore. Most of it focuses on news media, and, of course, sometimes even extends to individuals on social media. But artists and content creators from almost all fields constitute a major portion of those who face the issue, hence the emphasis on artistic freedom. Filmmakers, actors, painters, authors, stand-up comics et al, have faced repercussions because their works of art hurt people’s sentiments. In fact, India has a long history of such instances.
However, over the last few years, such public outcry has become more frequent and widespread, with artists facing FIRs, and even arrests. Since the definitions of free speech and hate speech appear to be unclear, vigilantism has proliferated, often with the aid of legal apparatus for the same. Moreover, it seems in 2020, as many people, if not more, have been affected by offensivitis as the coronavirus; the countless calls for boycott speak strongly in support of this observation. While cancel culture came to the fore-front globally in the light of several cultural, racial, and gender-related issues, the trajectory it has taken in India over the last 12 months, more so since the lockdown, is alarming at the least, and its amplification facilitated by social media is insurmountable.
The arrest of actor Kiku Sharda in 2016 for mimicking self-styled godman, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh (currently serving a 20-year jail sentence for raping two of his disciples), on a TV show, for hurting the religious feelings of his followers, made several headlines in the news back in the day. Ever since then, similar such cases have surfaced and briefly held the audience's attention. Several films have been at the receiving end of pre-release opposition, not much from the film certification board but people, over various reasons; quite a few projects of Sanjay Leela Bhansali actually.
YouTuber Tanmay Bhatt has been in several similar pickles; for mocking Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar, posting a meme on PM Modi to mention a few. Not only Bhatt, several other content creators have been trolled online, had their personal information disclosed, and some even physically harassed. Furthermore, contempt of court proceedings are underway against comedian Kunal Kamra and cartoonist Rachita Taneja for their posts on social media.
Several commercials were also under fire for hurting people’s sentiments and even promoting ‘Love Jihad’. Yes, you guessed it right, the infamous, taken-down soon after their release, Tanishq advertisements. When there were no films releasing in theatres to protest against and OTTs garnered popularity, people found fault in multiple shows streaming online. Netflix’s A Suitable Boy (2020) and MX Player’s Ashram (2020) were a few that received backlash.
Then came 2021! New year, new hope, right? We wish. On January 1, comedian Munawar Faruqui was thrashed by a group of people, and was arrested along with 4 others in Indore for allegedly making jokes on Hindu deities and Union Minister Amit Shah. Two days after his arrest, the police said that there is no video evidence supporting the claim, (at the time of publication) he is still in custody though.
With filmmakers like Anand Patwardhan holding their screenings in secrecy, director Soumitra Ranade is validated in saying, “Artistic freedom is a myth. No filmmaker has ever had any freedom. If not political, it’s been financial. And financial is also political in a sense.” Several comedians have come out in support of Faruqui. He is not the first one to come under attack for his content, and sadly, may not be the last. How far will tolerance towards intolerance go on? Artists are being forced to self-censor themselves. So let journalist Faye D’Souza’s lines from her spoken word poem Uncle, Are You With Us? sink in, “Does this sound normal to you? Is this what a citizen of an independent free democratic country should feel?”
(Cover source: Pinterest)
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