Kerala HC stays selection process of Indian Panorama
The Kerala High Court has stayed the selection process of films for the Indian Panorama Section of the 40th Goa International Film Festival of India to be held from November 23 to December 3.
The stay order was issued on a writ petition filed by Malayalam director-producer Ranjith, who alleged that one of the jury members, Gautaman Bhaskaran, had published the details of the films to be selected in the Indian Panorama on his website even before the official declaration was made. He said this clearly indicates that all is not well with the selection process.
Ranjith sought a direction from the Union Broadcasting Ministry to conduct an inquiry into the selection process and how the leak took place with one of the members leaking out the results before the official briefing.
What irked Ranjith was that some of the best Malayalam films of the year, including Pazhassi Raja, Brahmaram, Rithu, Sufi Paranja Katha, Thalapavu and Thirakatha are yet to be released Kerala Café, which was sent for the Panorama selection, was rejected.
The jury is chaired by filmmaker Muzaffar Ali and includes Raja Mitra, Bobby Bedi, J. Mahendran, Joseph Pulinthanananth, Leslie Carvalho and Gautaman Bhaskaran. Single Bench Judge Justice P.N. Ravindran had also directed issue of notices to the respondents, including the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the Union Government.
It was earlier heard that two Tamil films, namely Prasanna-Sneha starrer Achamundu Achamundu and Pandiraj-directed Pasanga found place in the list of Panorama Section, but with the Kerala High Court's stay on the Panorama selection, it seems unlikely that Achamundu Achamundu and Pasanga would make it to the festival.
