Mumbia, July 15 (IANS) “Kabootar”, a violent and “very brutal” film directed by Anubhav Sinha’s former assistant Maqbool Khan, is to be screened Thursday in New Delhi at the 10th Osian’s-Cinefan Film Festival. Sinha is hoping the film will fetch enough accolades to avoid the censor board’s scissors. “Otherwise, it might be ruthlessly chopped off,” Sinha told IANS.
“It’s violent and intense and very brutal. That’s what the theme demanded. It’s director Maqbool and his group of friends’ story. All of them are dead now. Only Maqbool has survived to tell the tale. It’s been selected for the competition section of the Osian’s Film Festival on July 17,” he added.
Although Sinha apprehends that the film’s graphic language and strong violent content may not appeal to the Censor Board, it got an unexpected boost from French quarters. “Francois d’Silva, who works closely with Luc Besson, took a shine to the film ‘Kabootar’. He was instrumental in getting ‘Kabootar’ into the Osian’s film festival.”
Set in Dholpur in Rajasthan, the film depicts the criminalization of teenagers in north India. In the film, teenage boys are shown as savage murderers and criminals.
“The film is undoubtedly a blood-splattered film. But it’s hugely emotional and intense. I’d place it in the same genre as Fernando Meirelles’ ‘City Of God’ about lost wayward kids.” The film gets its title from the game of kabatubaazi (pigeon fights). The main character is a kabutarbaaz (a person who owns pigeons and uses them for fights), who fosters and cultivates teenagers into a life of political and social crimes.
The film’s explicit dialogues and aggressive violence are bound to create immense censorial difficulties.
“It does have a lot of graphic language and that too involving kids. The censors are bound to be on their guard. But we must understand that the violence and strong language are determined by the subject. The Osian directorate has no problems with the strong content. But I’m getting ready for a long battle with the censors ahead.”
— By Subhash K. Jha
