NEW DELHI, 23/09/2014: Actor Naseeruddin Shah during an interview in New Delhi on Tuesday, September 23, 2014
| Photo Credit: SUBRAMANIUM S
A citizen group comprising actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, acclaimed filmmaker Anant Patwardhan and others has petitioned the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to cancel the Israel Film Festival to be held in Mumbai on August 21-22, 2024. The group has put forth its demand in view of Israeli atrocities in the ongoing war in Gaza.
The festival is scheduled to be held at the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC).
“This screening by the NFDC is shamefully being held at a time, when the entire world is witness to Israeli war crimes, the ongoing Holocaust and the genocide in Gaza, and across all of Palestine,” reads the statement.
The signatories also include veteran freedom fighter Dr. G.G. Parekh, writer and activist Tushar Gandhi (great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi), senior journalist Javed Anand and others.
The statement cites research on Israeli war crimes in Palestine. It adds that the Indian government recognises the state of Palestine and has called for ceasefires in the ongoing war.
“The management of the NFDC & the NMIC should be aware of the fact that the Government of India has consistently voted for a ceasefire, as well has recognised the Palestinian state, as have the overwhelming majority of the nations,” the statement reads.
It calls the screening of Israeli films in this backdrop ‘totally immoral, unethical, unconscionable, and a travesty of justice to say the least.’
“In keeping with the Indian tradition of supporting anti-colonial liberation struggles, we, as a nation, have always stood with Palestine, and here too the NFDC & the NMIC stand in utter violation of the very spirit of India, the India of Buddha & Gandhi,” the statement adds.