Anand Patwardhan (born 18 February 1950) is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while others investigate nuclear nationalism and unsustainable development.[1][2][3][4] Notable films include Bombay: Our City (Hamara Shahar) (1985), In Memory of Friends (1990), In the Name of God (Ram ke Naam) (1992), Father, Son, and Holy War (1995), A Narmada Diary (1995), War and Peace (2002) and Jai Bhim Comrade (2011), Reason (2018), and The World is Family (2023), which have won national and international awards.
Patwardhan during a screening of Ram ke Naam at Kollam
Virtually all of Patwardhan's documentary films have faced censorship from the Indian government, eventually being cleared after legal action. His film Bombay: Our City was shown on TV after a four-year court case,[11] while Father, Son, and Holy War (1995) was adjudged in 2004 as one of 50 most memorable international documentaries of all time by DOX, Europe's leading documentary film magazine. Father, Son, and Holy War was shown on India's National Network, Doordarshan, only in the year 2006, 11 years after its making, after a prolonged court battle that lasted 10 years and ended with the nation's Supreme Court ordering the network to telecast the film without any cuts.[12]
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), refused to certify his next film, War and Peace, released in 2002. The board demanded 21 cuts before it would be certified.[13] Patwardhan took the government to court, leading to the film being banned for over a year.[14] However, after a court battle, Patwardhan won the right to screen his film without a single cut.[15][16][17] As with his previous films, Patwardhan also successfully fought to force a reluctant national broadcaster, Doordarshan, to show this film on their national network. It was commercially released in multiplexes in 2005.[18]
His 2011 documentary, Jai Bhim Comrade, was based on a police firing incident against Dalits at Ramabai Colony in Mumbai in 1997. The film, which took 14 years to complete, is considered by many to be a watershed in Patwardhan's long career.[19] In 2013, the Sheffield International Film Festival honoured Patwardhan with an Inspiration Award.[20] In 2014, the Mumbai International Film Festival honoured him with the V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award.[21][22]
Upon being asked in a BFI interview to deliver a message for future documentary filmmakers, Patwardhan famously replied: "No message really. Do it only if it burns when you don't."[23]
Political views
In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Patwardhan signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[24][25][26]
Filmography
1971: "Waves of Revolution" (Kraanti Ki Tarangein): This film was on government repression during the Bihar Movement.[27]
1978: "Prisoners of Conscience" (Zameer ke Bandi): a film on political prisoners in The Emergency (India)
Grand Prize at the Earth Vision Film Festival in 1996.[32]
Filmfare Award for Best Documentary 1996.
1996: Occupation: Mill Worker: Chronicles the actions of mill workers who, after a four-year lock-out, forcibly occupied The New Great Eastern Mill in India.
1998: Fishing: In the Sea of Greed: Response of fishing communities in India and Bangladesh, to industrial-scale fishing.
1998: Ribbons for Peace: An anti-nuke music video.
2006: Images You Didn't See: Music video that interprets images gleaned from the net-images that either never appear in the mainstream media, or images whose import are masked behind a velvet curtain of global infotainment.
2009: Children of Mandala: A message from the economically displaced children of a slum colony in Mumbai.
2011: Jai Bhim Comrade: a documentary film based on a real incident – the killing of 10 Dalits by police in Mumbai, 1997.[35][36]
Ram Bahadur Grand Prize, Film South Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2011[37]
Best Film/Video, Mumbai International Film Festival, India, 2012
Firebird Award for Best documentary, Hong Kong Film Festival, 2012[38]
