Entertainment Desk :
Director’s Guild, a television drama directors’ organisation, protested against the refusal of censor clearance for director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s movie titled ‘Shonibar Bikel (Saturday Afternoon).’ On August 28, the protest was announced in a statement by the Executive Council of the Directors Guild, said a press release.
The movie ‘Shonibar Bikel (Saturday Afternoon)’ has not been getting the censor clearance for more than three years, it has been stuck on the Censor Board which is the biggest obstacle to free speech, the statement said. It is not clear to us why the censor board is not giving censor clearance to this movie.
It is reported that director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s is one of the few directors who can enlighten the cinema industry. He is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, who has been able to introduce Bengali movies in the international arena.
According to the statement, almost all movies of director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki are screened prominently in international film festivals. Most of his projects have won international awards, which is a matter of pride for the country. In 2019, ‘Shonibar Bikel (Saturday Afternoon)’ was awarded at the 41st Moscow International Film Festival with the Russian Federation of Film Critics Jury Award and the Kommersant Award among other festivals. In addition, the movie was also featured in the official selection of many other festivals including Busan and Sydney.
The Director’s Guild of Bangladesh said, “We and Bangladeshi audience want to watch the film ‘Shonibar Bikel (Saturday Afternoon)’ in the big screens. I am protesting against not giving the censor clearance of ‘Saturday Afternoon’ to continue the progress of Bengali cinema, the film needs to get the clearance certificate. Besides, I have also demand to introduce sensor gradation system instead of the current sensor law.”
