IFFI jury chief Sujoy Ghosh and member Apurva Asrani resigned over the decision to drop two films - S Durga and Nude - from the festival, but another member, filmmaker Rahul Rawail, has said he was kept in the loop by the Information and Broadcasting ministry.
Rawail told News18 on Wednesday that the ministry informed him that Ravi Jadhav's Nude, chosen by the 13-member jury, will not open IFFI 2017 - but was not given the reason. Nude was replaced by Vinod Kaopening's Pihu as the opeing film.
“I was informed that the opening film needs to be changed. However, the ministry didn’t specify any particular reason for that. They just asked me if I have another film in mind. So, I suggested Pihu,” Rawail said.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on November 9 had listed 26 feature and 16 non-feature films for the Indian Panorama section of IFFI, leaving out both S Durga and Nude which were recommended by the jury. All reports suggested the switch was made at the ministry-level without consulting the jury.
After the two films were left out from the fest, director Sujoy Ghosh resigned as jury head of IFFI’s Indian Panorama section without giving any reason. On Wednesday morning, film editor and a senior jury member, Apurva Asrani too stepped down from his post.
When asked his reaction on their resignation, Rawail said, “That’s completely their choice. I don’t want to comment on that.”
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