New Delhi: The release of Oscar-nominated film ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ in India is in limbo as the distributor is awaiting clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ is a docudrama based on the story of the Palestinian girl killed by Israeli soldiers in 2024.
The certification has been stalled apparently because the film is against Israel, and India shares a good relation ship with that country, according to the film’s distributor Manoj Nandwana.
Nominated in the Best International Film category at the 98th Academy Awards earlier this month, ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ has been acquired by Nandwana’s Jai Viratra Entertainment Limited, for distributorship in India as well as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
According to Nandwana, ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ was shown to the CBFC in late February, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two-day state visit to Israel, and nothing objectionable was found in the film.
“It’s a very sensitive film. The screening took place during the time of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel. We cannot play the film here because of the India-Israel relationship. We had a screening with the censor board, and as you know, if there’s any cut, they suggest that. But this film has no violence, nudity, or any political dialogues,” Nandwana was quoted as saying by PTI.
“The film has been sent to the revising committee. I am not sure when it will be formed. The film will be outdated by then. There is no point in having false hope when they have given the basic reason that, according to them, the film is against Israel,” Nandwana claimed.
“There was no such communication (from CBFC) except for a verbal communication stating that it is a sensitive film.,” Nandwana added.
PTI contacted CBFC and its chairman Prasoon Joshi for a response on the controversy, but has not yet got a response.
Filmmaker questions decision
Director Ben Hania has raised questions over the delay in theatrical release of her 2025 film ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ in India.
“I grew up loving India. Bollywood was part of my childhood. At some point, I even imagined I had Indian roots just to feel special. Is the honeymoon between the ‘world’s largest democracy’ and the ‘only democracy in the Middle East’ so fragile that a film could break it? Would love to hear your opinions,” Ben Hania wrote in a post shared on Instagram.
It triggered an online debate.
One social media user wrote, “I’ve been trying to challenge this blockade in Bangalore, so with a screening, but your distributor is charging an impossible amount.”
Another person wrote, “Sad to see how we have rejected a people who are closer to us than white settler colonialists.”
One netizen expressed, “I watched the film. This decision is one that abets genocide and as an Indian, I, in no uncertain terms, strongly condemn it. None of us is free until all of us are free, and I will stand with Palestine until I am no longer on this Earth.”
Another strong opinion was: “When was the last time we, Indians, were in the news for the right reasons? Our government does not represent the majority of us anymore.”
