Kazmi’s second film Ek Sarkari Jooti on Indian Muslims is also ready.
By Jasmine Raskoti
NEW DELHI: Rajat Kazmi, the debutant director of Identity Card, was nervous before the Censor Board reviewed the film.
He expected certain cuts because of the volatile subject and candid dialogues. But he was left startled when he was told that the film would have to be reviewed by a Muslim individual to ensure the religious references were current. Kazmi himself is a Kashmiri Muslim and he could not understand the relevance.
Kazmi tells Bollywood Hungama “I knew what I was talking about in Identity Card. The issue of Kashmiri militancy and how brutally it affects local Kashmiri civilians is very close to my heart. So when after the censor panel viewed my film I was told it would have to be viewed by a Muslim, I was confused.”
However, things turned out to be not so bad for Kazmi. The film grabbed a ‘UA’ certificate and with only two cuts in it – at one place the word Muslim is muted and at the other, the dialogue where Muslims are blamed for the political upheaval in Kashmir is also muted. The Board did not touch the narratives for which Kazmi was tense.
With Identity Card, Kazmi hopes to bring forth the truth about Kashmir’s militancy. He is even ready with his second feature film entitles Ek Sarkari Jooti. The film is a comment on the socio-political status of the Indian Muslim.
Furqan Merchant and Raghuveer Yadav, who are among the prominent casts of Identity Card, will be featuring in the second film too.
(Updated image on 30-08-2014)