Film body to summon Dera chief

Mumbai: In a nation where comedy is prime-time preoccupation, this small room in Andheri made for an unlikely scene brimming with comic actors and artistes who sat there lacking the mirth that bring alive screens both big and small.
If every joke has a target, Kiku Sharda became a victim of his own after the comic was handcuffed by the Haryana police for his spoof on Dera chief Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim on a TV channel a fortnight ago.Sharda was arrested under Section 295 (A) of the Indian Penal Code for “deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings”, produced in court and let off on a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh.
“It seems we all should keep anticipatory bail handy as we don’t know when and what may offend who,” said Amit Behl, actor and joint secretary of CINTAA, leading the contingent of artistes, Renuka Shahane, Ashutosh Rana, Vrajesh Hirjee, Lubna Salim, Salim Arif and others, that came out on Monday evening to voice concern and protest against harassment from keepers of the law promising strict action in few days.
Sharda, who was in Moradabad shooting, joined in briefly on Skype, and said, “I felt very alone and scared those three days. I apologized for my act not because I was scared but my intention is never to hurt anyone.”
An incident that has resulted in increased nervousness and possibility of greater threat to the creative realm with guardians of political correctness keeping a close eye, the artistes condemned the vagueness of a law that risks misinterpretation, abuse and hangs on them like the proverbial Damocles sword. “Therefore, it needs to be revisited or repealed,” protested Ashish Rego, treasurer, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). “How does one decide what is ‘deliberate and malicious intent’ and how is it so easy for anyone to get anybody arrested?” he asked, while Behl pointed out, “Rahim is not someone who is a historical figure nor god. He is the owner of a sect and an actor. How is the law and arrest valid?”
Communities and individuals are often at the centre of spoofs and jokes but uninhibited comedy is frequently on the edge of risk when it comes to religion and politics, especially ones who hold authority. While comic artistes press at boundaries, those at the receiving end one must know the intention of the material and have the ability to take harmless jokes in their stride, the artistes stressed.
“Kiku is representative of all of us. Tomorrow any of us could be in his place and we don’t want a repeat of what happened. If any adverse judgement is passed against him, we will not take it lying down. We will shut down, if necessary, until the system is corrected,” stressed Rego.
The fear of a larger threat prompted collective action by FWICE and its 22 affiliates, including the Cine & TV Artistes Association (CINTAA), which decided to take action in few days. They will file a writ petition in the Bombay high court against Section 295 (A), which they feel is a broad and vague ambit that endangers the creative community, followed by a petition before the state government and chief minister, seeking “immediate safety and security for our members and workers as we provide a broad revenue stream to the government. We have every right to be safeguarded in every way.”
They intend to take it forward with a letter to the President and Prime Minister, asking them to “either amend this law and make it more specific and detailed or repeal it completely if found to be unnecessary.”
The federation will follow it up with a day of “token strike to protest against the arrest when the entire film and TV industry will come to a standstill. We will announced the date soon,” added Rego.
The film body intends to summon the Dera chief, who is a member of CINTAA to Mumbai before the joint dispute settlement committee “to settle the matter with Kiku, the show’s producer and the channel. His gang took away one of our boys. Now he will have to come,” assured Behl.
Rego revealed that this was the second time in a year that a member of the TV industry has faced unwarranted censorship followed by dire consequences. “A few months ago there was a complaint filed in Punjab against the director of the serial ‘Lapataganj’ as someone thought it was derogatory. Punjab Police representatives came to Bombay and arrested the director and took him to Punjab.”
Rego explained, “We as an industry are feeling scared and we don’t want to feel this way as we’ve done nothing wrong. Nor are we here to ferment any religious mistrust or trouble. We are here to do our job, which is a creative job, and fulfil it as that’s our only source of livelihood.”
Comedy, often perceived as inconsequential and a mere instrument of fun, can be the lightest way of serving up the necessary commentaries on life and Sharda’s arrest poses a greater threat to urgent and necessary comments in future, said Yogesh Kamdar, human rights activist and former vice-president, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). “Our society has forgotten that freedom of expression in essence is to say things that may be unpalatable. Praise is already acceptable. Humour is the best antidote to pomposity and high-handed nonsense that can bring things down to ground reality,” pointed out Kamdar, stressing the need to bring such factions in line with the constitutional guarantee “so that law keepers cannot use this as a tool to harass”.