Miffed Karnad walks out of jury

Playwright Girish Karnad today resigned from jury membership of Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), protesting against its ‘&#1...

Playwright Girish Karnad today resigned from jury membership of Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), protesting against its ‘‘attempt at censorship’’.

In his resignation letter, Bangalore-based Karnad said: ‘‘The entire atmosphere, as indeed the very purpose of the festival, has become vitiated, making it, I fear, difficult for me to be associated with it.’’

His decision has come soon after the January 24 announcement by the Campaign Against Censorship (CAC) — a group of 250 filmmakers — to put up a parallel festival to MIFF. The CAC will include the rejected films, as well those works which filmmakers withdrew from MIFF’s selection in protest.

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The bi-annual documentary festival, in its eighth year now, will take place at the Films Division, Peddar Road, from February 3 to 9.

The whole movement has been sparked off by what the CAC dubs as back-door censorship at MIFF. They allege that the committee ignored works of filmmakers involved in last year’s protest against MIFF’s move to introduce censorship. Some 60 films have been rejected and about a dozen filmmakers have withdrawn their works.

While no reaction from MIFF’s committee could be garnered, MIFF’s new chief producer and director Raghu Krishna is expected to clarify matters by this month-end.