Acclaimed filmmaker Nandita Das has advocated for self-regulation and accountability instead of imposed censorship amid the raging India’s Got Latent controversy involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia and comedian Samay Raina.
“Any creative person, whether you're a journalist, you're an artist, we all need to be responsible for what we do. At the same time, I fiercely believe in freedom of expression,” Das told The Telegraph Online during the closing ceremony of French Film Festival Kolkata on Saturday.
Das, who directed Manto (2018), a film based on the life of Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto — who himself faced obscenity trials for his allegedly provocative stories — also cautioned against censorship.
“Even during Manto’s time, people were troubled by many things. How will anybody prove what is right or what is wrong? What is right for you may be wrong for me,” she said.
Referring to the subjective nature of offense, Das said, “I may be very offended by very regressive content that may not be overtly violent but may be very regressive against women or a particular community. You may think it’s fine. So who is to decide? I think censorship is anyway a dangerous thing. That is what Manto and Ismat (Chughtai) were fighting against.”
However, she also stressed the importance of accountability in creative expression. “With that freedom, we have to be responsible. That is also equally important,” she asserted.
While advocating for self-regulation rather than imposed censorship, Das said, “I can’t tell you to be more responsible. It’s very easy to tell you that I need to think about my responsibility, you need to think about your responsibility. And that's how a society grows. That’s how we as individuals, as artists, will grow.”
Das dismissed direct comparisons between IGL and Manto’s literary battles, stating, “The six stories that Manto was accused of obscenity for are some of the most important, some of the most celebrated stories today. So I don’t think the comparison (between IGL and Manto) is a valid comparison. They are very different.”
Her remarks come amid a larger conversation in India about artistic freedom and the boundaries of creative expression, following a spate of FIRs filed against YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, whose remarks on Samay Raina's online comedy show created a furore last month.
Allahbadia had approached the Supreme Court for clubbing all FIRs against him. The apex court protected the influencer from arrest while severely castigating him for the remarks it described as "showing a perverted mind".
Last year, the Modi government faced backlash for its draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill proposing regulations over digital news platforms and online content creators. Critics, including the Editors Guild of India, called it “vague and intrusive”, fearing it could lead to censorship via regulatory bodies like the Broadcast Advisory Council.
The bill also sought to regulate individual creators on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, sparking concerns over excessive control and compliance burdens. Additionally, the consultation process was criticised for being opaque and selective. Amid widespread opposition from media organisations, content creators, and civil liberties groups, the government withdrew the draft in August 2024.
The closing ceremony of French Film Festival Kolkata, held on March 1, was attended by Das, actress Huma Qureshi, filmmaker Sudhir Mishra, actor Anjan Dutt, and casting director Mukesh Chhabra at Nandan.
