Unfreedom
| Unfreedom | |
|---|---|
 English-language poster of the film | |
| Directed by | Raj Amit Kumar |
| Written by | Raj Amit Kumar Damon J Taylor |
| Produced by | Raj Amit Kumar |
| Starring | Victor Banerjee Adil Hussain Bhanu Uday Preeti Gupta Bhavani Lee Ankur Vikal Seema Rahmani Samrat Chakrabarti |
| Cinematography | Hari Nair |
| Edited by | Atanu Mukherjee |
| Music by | Wayne Sharpe Jesse Kotansky |
Production companies | Dark Frames 69 Productions |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Countries | United States India |
| Languages | English Hindi |
Unfreedom: Blemished light (Hindi title: Dagh Ujala) is a 2014 Indian drama film by Raj Amit Kumar,[2] which was released in North America on 29 May 2015.[3] Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poem, "Ye Dagh Dagh Ujala", is the inspiration behind the film.[4] The film stars Victor Banerjee,[5] Adil Hussain.[6] and Preeti Gupta.[7]
The story revolves around a Muslim fundamentalist in New York who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar with an intent to kill, while a closeted lesbian in New Delhi kidnaps her bisexual lover with the intent of being together. Then the resulting torture and violence evokes a brutal struggle of identities against "unfreedom".[8]
Cast
- Victor Banerjee as Fareed Rahmani
- Adil Hussain as Devraj Singh, Leela's police officer father
- Bhanu Uday as Hussain [9]
- Preeti Gupta as Leela Singh[10]
- Bhavani Lee as Sakhi Taylor[11]
- Ankur Vikal as Najeeb
- Seema Rahmani as Chandra
- Samrat Chakrabarti as Anees
- Danae Nason as Jana
- Andrew Platner as Mitch
- Danny Boushebel as Malik
- Dilip Shankar as Sameer
- Alyy Khan as Alyy[12]
- Kuldeep Sareen as Janaka
- Jatin Sarna as Janaka's Officer
- Shayan Munshi as Anand, Sakhi's beau
- Swaroopa Ghosh as Eiravati
- Yash Kansara as young Hussain
- Rayvin Disla as Jordan
- John Castaldo as Morris
- Nalin Singh as Jishnu
- Bubbales Sabharwal as Dr Malik
- Nikki Chawla as Alvina, Hussain's mother
- Kedarnath as Fiamanullah
- Sudeep Solanki as Jimmy, art buyer
- Darlene Heller as Jessica
- Sachin Verma as Hiresh
- Manoj Bakshi as Prithu
- Vanya Joshi as Ujas
Production
Hari Nair is the cinematographer of the film[13] with Wayne Sharpe[14] and Jesse Kotansky composing the soundtrack. Resul Pookutty[15] did the sound design. Deepa Bajaj, who also was the post-production producer, worked on the publicity campaign and distribution of the film.
In India, the Central Board of Film Certification refused to certify the movie for public release in India.[16]
Censorship
In India, the film was refused certification by the Examining Committee. A revising committee of the Censor Board proposed cuts to the director, Raj Amit Kumar. He refused and appealed against the Censor Board's demand for cuts to the Indian Government's Information and Broadcasting Appellate Tribunal FCAT. In response to his appeal, the authorities completely banned the film regardless of cuts.[17] The news of the ban gained widespread coverage in the media.[18][19]
In a video released on April 9, 2015 on YouTube, Raj Amit Kumar states that the Censor Board should rate or certify a movie, instead of banning and offering cuts. He also said that he would keep sending signed petitions to the Prime Minister and Censor Board, until there is a real change. The director is seeking support from people who believe in freedom of speech.[20]
References
- ^ https://in.news.yahoo.com/banned-india-unfreedom-released-north-america-054618002.html |2015-02-11
- ^ "American Indian director Amit to make BLEMISHED LIGHT". 6 July 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ^ "Dark Frames to Release 'Unfreedom,' Starring Victor Banerjee". The Hollywood Reporter. 10 February 2015.
- ^ "Victor Banerjee to star in Blemished Light". 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ^ "'Today, no one respects age, experience, talent or discipline'". 17 July 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ^ "'Grey Matter – Bollywood's latest discovery – Adil Hussain seeks complex roles in the industry'". 28 December 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ "IIT SCREENS BANNED FILM ABOUT LESBIANS".
- ^ "Raj Amit Kumar to use crowdfunding campaign to release his film, Unfreedom". 17 February 2015.
- ^ "I am fortunate I am still fresh" Upcoming movies of Bhanu Uday". 17 July 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ K, Bhumika (18 June 2015). "Preeti Gupta: A bold portrayal". The Hindu.
- ^ "Actor Bhavani Lee shoots for 'Blemished Light'". 25 November 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ "American Indian director Amit to make BLEMISHED LIGHT". 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
- ^ "Hit by the shutter bug". The Times of India. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ "Wayne Sharpe: American composer in Bollywood". CNN. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "America has banned more films than India: Resul Pookutty". Hindustan Times. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "Film on Homosexuality UnFreedom Banned in India". Outlook. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "BOARD BANS FILM ON GAYS, CLAIMS IT'LL IGNITE 'UNNATURAL PASSION'". Mumbai Mirror. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "After Unfreedom Ban, filmmakers come together in the fight against Censorship". Times Now. 1 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "Film review: Un-Freedom". Batori. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "'Unfreedom' director calls for freedom of expression". Times of India. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
