BBC documentary row: Activist defies government's ban, shows movie in Agra village

Lucknow, March 9: Defying government's ban, BBC documentary based on brutal Delhi gang rape case was screened in one of the district in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. Reportedly, an activist named Ketan Dixit who is involved with NGO 'Stop Acid Attacks'(SAA) dared to show the movie in an Agra village. Dixit, an independent film maker apparently arranged the premier of the movie with the hope that villagers will understand that ban is not at all justified.

According to TOI report, over 70 people of the village saw the movie and most of the audiences emphasized with Nirbhaya's plight. After seeing the film, one of the resident of Rupdhanu village, Meera Parmar reacted sharply. She said, "I think the rapists should simply be hanged".

On asking why he went ahead with the screening of the movie despite government ban over the controversial movie, the activist said that the move is an act of protest and he is ready to face any extreme action for the same.

Before getting permission to show the film in this village, the activist asked many other villages of the area to allow him to do the same but villagers were little apprehensive. Quoting activist newspaper writes, "Many outrightly denied permission, others expressed solidarity with the government's ban. However, when we approached Rupdhanu residents and explained the background to them, they readily agreed."

Earlier, reports came that after airing it in UK, despite India's objection, the BBC will premier its controversial documentary in US on Monday.

Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep and Frieda Pinto will be attending the premier in a show of support for the film banned in India.
Meanwhile, parents of Nirbhaya have now said that the filmmaker did not show them the final version of the documentary and they had then refused to sign release papers.

The parents had earlier also objected to the documentary being aired as it not only makes the victim's name public but also includes offensive remarks made by one of the rape convicts.

The US premier of the documentary 'Storyville: India's daughter' will take place at the Baruch College of the City University of New York and will be presented by NGO Vital Voices Global Partnership and children's development organisation - Plan International.

India committed "international suicide" by banning a documentary on the Delhi gang rape from screening in the country, the British filmmaker behind the controversial film has said.

Udwin, the director of 'India's Daughter' also said it was ironical that her purpose of "giving a gift of gratitude" to India has been misinterpreted as "pointing fingers" at the country.

Udwin, a Plan ambassador, had said the December 2012 rape and the protests that followed was an "Arab spring for gender equality".

"What impelled me to leave my husband and 2 children for 2 years while I made the film in India was not so much the horror of the rape as the inspiring and extraordinary eruption on the streets. A cry of 'enough is enough'."

"Unprecedented numbers of ordinary men and women, day after day, faced a ferocious government crackdown that included tear gas, baton charges and water cannon. They were protesting for my rights and the rights of all women. That gives me optimism. I can't recall another country having done that in my lifetime," Udwin had added.

Expressing displeasure over 'India's Daughter', Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Sunday said that deriving "commercial benefits" out of a brutal incident would definitely trigger an outrage in the country.

The documentary, which was premiered in the UK on March 4, will be screened in countries across the globe -- including Switzerland, Norway and Canada -- to mark International Women's Day.

OneIndia News

(with inputs from PTI)