Vishal Bhardwaj on ‘Padmaavat’ and the Time for Artists to Scream

Vishal Bhardwaj brings back ‘chutzpah’.

Vishal Bhardwaj at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2018.

(Photo courtesy: ANI)

Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj didn’t mince his words while speaking at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival. On the second day of the festival, while speaking about Shakespeare and the courage to speak truth to power, Vishal went back to the pet word that he used in his film Haider - “Chutzpah”. He borrowed the term once again to describe what was happening with Padmaavat.

“What’s been happening for four years now is ‘chutzpah’. If the Supreme Court says release a film, and it is still not released, that’s ‘chutzpah’, isn’t it?”

Vishal Bhardwaj

The filmmaker also went on to argue that this was the best time for an artist who is suppressed to react and speak out. “When they strangle us, we will scream. This is the time for screaming,” he said.

Vishal also criticised the fact that Padmaavat was not being showed in theatres in Rajashtan, Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh despite an order by the Supreme Court. “The scariest part of all this is that the protestors are getting away with all they are doing. How will we survive, even if the court’s order is not being followed by these people,” commented the filmmaker.

The Rangoon director however hoped on a positive that the situation would change. “As an industry, we are really sad that these things are now being done so aggressively. I hope the states become more powerful to stop the protestors, who even after the Supreme Court’s verdict are taking law in their hands,” he said.

(Source: Hindustan Times)