Documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan’s National Award-winning 1995 documentary film Father, Son and Holy War is back on YouTube, days after he had complained about it being taken down from the platform.
The film had reportedly been flagged for containing violent content.
“A mini victory,” Patwardhan wrote on Facebook after the film was restored by YouTube.
On Monday, Patwardhan had accused YouTube of censorship. “Father, Son and Holy War” is my 1995 film which got a U/A censor certificate, two national awards and the Supreme Court of India ordered Doordarshan to screen it at prime time in the public interest. Yet now 30 years later Youtube has decided that it is too ‘violent’,” he wrote.
Father, Son and Holy War also went through a legal fight over its broadcast, with Patwardhan challenging Doordarshan’s refusal in 2001. The Bombay High Court sided with Patwardhan, and the Supreme Court eventually ordered its screening.
In 2019, YouTube restricted access to Patwardhan’s 1992 documentary Ram Ke Naam on age grounds, despite its CBFC ‘U’ certificate. The film, which documents the Hindu right’s movement to demolish the Babri Masjid and replace it with a temple, was made unavailable to users under 18.
