Documentary filmmakers Afiya Khalid and Rizwan Rahman have faced repeated censorship of their film “Sanitised Republic: Cast(e) & Contracts,” which has been barred from screening at three consecutive festivals, including the 18th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Keralam (IDSFFK). The Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry has yet to grant the film a censor exemption, despite the filmmakers’ attempts to comply with the ministry’s demands.
The film follows sanitation workers at Delhi’s Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College who continued to work during the COVID‑19 pandemic and then lost their jobs in June 2022. It examines the realities of contractual labour and the intersection of caste and sanitation work in contemporary India. Khalid explained that the ministry objected to a short audio clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the lockdown and to a news screenshot, and even after the requested cuts the film remains unapproved.
Other documentaries at IDSFFK also face censorship. Spandan Banerjee’s “Parliament Street” was denied exemption on the basis of its title, while Sankaraa’s “The Mali and the Parasite,” Bipuljit Basu’s “Redlight to Limelight,” and Sharanya Deyy’s “In Search of Buddha” have likewise been effectively banned. These works cover topics ranging from tribal resistance in Odisha to the experiences of sex workers in Kolkata and the legacy of a forgotten Naxal leader.
The Kerala High Court, which had earlier issued notices to the I&B Ministry, is expected to hear the exemption case on Monday. A collective of filmmakers has urged that all five unapproved films remain in the competition jury’s consideration and has called for the cancellation of awards if the government does not clear the documentaries, citing the situation as a protest against the censorship regime.
