Sengadal: Censor worries continue
Writer, poet and now director Leena Manimeghalai's debut venture Sengadal - the Dead Sea, a feature-length docu-fiction that portrays real stories of victims from either side of the Palk Strait , has been denied clearance by the Regional Committee of the Censor Board recently. The regional committee of the Censor Board did not clear the film stating: 'The film contains many present political references in a denigrative way and usage of many unparliamentary words. There are some denigrating references to the functioning of the Sri Lankan government.' Director Leena Manimeghalai latter approached the appellate board in Delhi for censorship. She is not willing to cut any portion of the film at any cost. The final hearing is on April 27, 2011. Sengadal - the Dead Sea, produced by Janaki Sivakumar, is an experiment in participatory film-making which incorporates stories recounted by widows of fishermen killed by Lankan Navy, Tamil refugees from across the sea and the local fishermen who have to deal with the State police and naval authorities of both countries. The film focuses on the period between February and May 2009, the last stages of civil conflict in Sri Lanka. Interestingly, the film is all set to be screened later this month at the Tamil film festival in Norway.