Documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan on Monday said that his 1995 film Father, Son and Holy War was removed by YouTube for allegedly being “too violent” and condemned it as an act of censorship by the video sharing platform.

The filmmaker said that the documentary “records the violence caused by religious fanatics and politicians vying for power”, and described it as “an exposé of violence, not an endorsement” of it.

“Shame on YouTube!” Patwardhan added on social media. “Remove the censors, not good sense.”

While the film was removed from Patwardhan’s channel, it is available on another channel called Alukuchi Malukuchi.

Father, Son and Holy War examines the intersection of Hindutva, anxieties about masculinity and the use of misogynistic rhetoric by Hindu and Muslim leaders to justify violence.

It won two National Film Awards in 1995 for the best investigative documentary and best film on social problems.

The documentary filmmaker had also gone to court after public broadcaster Doordarshan refused to telecast the film in 2001. After the Bombay High Court sided with the filmmaker, the channel challenged the judgement before the Supreme Court.

In 2006, the Supreme Court directed Doordarshan to screen the film, describing the national broadcaster’s decision as “highly irrational” and a “blatant violation” of the right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution”, The Wire reported.

Article 19(1)(a) guarantees the freedom of speech and expression.

This is not the first time that Patwardhan’s films have faced hurdles on YouTube.

In 2019, the platform put an age restriction on his 1992 documentary Ram Ke Naam, allowing only users above age 18 to watch it.

The film otherwise holds a U certificate for unrestricted public exhibition from the Central Board for Film Certification. However, it now opens on YouTube with a disclaimer saying that it may be “inappropriate for some users”.

The film examines Hindutva group Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s campaign to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, which they believe is the spot on which the deity had been born.

In 2019, Patwardhan had also pointed out that his 2011 documentary Jai Bhim Comrade had similarly been restricted.

Jai Bhim Comrade explores the lives of Dalits in Mumbai, using as a starting point the 1997 Ramabai Nagar killings, when 10 members of the community died in police firing during a protest against the desecration of a statue of BR Ambedkar in Mumbai.

Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

Also read: