‘It is most unfortunate’: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on IFFK 2024 cancels screenings after Censor exemption certificates denial

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM(Kerala):Controversy has erupted at the ongoing 12th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) after the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has refused screening permission for several films, leading to the cancellation of multiple screenings in Thiruvananthapuram.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor described the situation as “most unfortunate.” Taking to X, he wrote, “It is most unfortunate that an unseemly controversy has arisen over the central government’s denial of clearance to 19 films which were scheduled to be screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram.”

Tharoor said that while the original list of films was much longer, several clearances were obtained after his “intervention” with Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw. “The original list was much longer, but several clearances were obtained after my intervention with Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw at the request of @resulp(Resul Pookutty), the chairman of the festival. The rest are awaiting clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs.”

It is most unfortunate that an unseemly controversy has arisen over the central government’s denial of clearance to 19 films which were scheduled to be screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram.

The original list was much longer, but several…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 16, 2025

According to organisers, screenings of seven films scheduled over the last two days were stalled due to the absence of the mandatory exemption certificate. At present, 19 films have not received permission for screening.

Referring to some of the denied films, Tharoor said, The list of 19 films suggests an extraordinary degree of cinematic illiteracy on the part of the bureaucracy. To deny clearance to a classic like “Battleship Potemkin”, a 1928 film on the Russian Revolution which has been viewed by literally hundreds of millions around the world (and in India) over the last century, is laughable. Denying permission to some Palestinian films reflects bureaucratic over-cautiousness rather than the cultural breadth of vision that should be involved when it comes to world cinema.”

Tharoor further urged both Minister Vaishnaw and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to grant “expeditious clearance” to “avoid any further embarrassment in the eyes of the cinema lovers of Kerala, and of the world.”

“I have urged both I&B Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw and EAM @DrSJaishankar to grant expeditious clearance and avoid any further embarrassment in the eyes of the cinema lovers of Kerala, and of the world,” Tharoor added.

In film festivals, movies without a Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate are usually screened after obtaining a special ‘exemption certificate’ from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. However, the non-availability of this certificate has triggered the current disruption at IFFK.

The director Adoor Gopalakrishnan expressed his displeasure over the banning of classic films like ‘The Hour of the Furnaces’ and ‘Battleship Potemkin’ and the Spanish film ‘Beef’ at the IFFK 2025, which began on December 12 and set to conclude on December 19.

While talking , Gopalakrishnan said, “Films like ‘Battleship Potemkin’, ‘The Hour of the Furnaces’ are the classics of cinema. I studied those films in my school days, in my film institute days. So, it’s like a joke to ban it because almost all of us have these films at home. We keep it as a textbook. So, you cannot stop.” The director described the decision as the “sheer lack of understanding” of the cinema by the organisers.

He continued, “To advertise one’s ignorance like this is very bad for the government, very bad for the people. They should reconsider the ban on these films, and their decisions should not be based solely on the titles. A film’s title ‘Beef’ is not about eating cow meat. It is not about that So, the whole thing is based on a sheer lack of understanding of the medium of cinema. So, they should have some humility to learn. It looks like it is sheer ignorance, nothing else.”

The film director Kamal also expressed his disappointment and anger with the ban of films like ‘Battleship Potemkin.'”Very disappointing and very much angry with this ban. They have banned the movie Badger Chip Potamkin. Why? Classic. The history of the cinema starts from Badger Chip Potamkin. So, that film they are banning. Why?” said Kamal while talking to ANI.

Screenings of several films, including the internationally acclaimed classic ‘Battleship Potemkin’, have been disrupted, causing inconvenience to delegates and festival attendees.

Organisers are reportedly in talks with the authorities to resolve the issue at the earliest. (ANI)