It never rains, it pours! Fast on the heels of
Father, Son and Holy War which Doordarshan (DD)
telecast last Sunday morning, DD National is set
to telecast Anand’s anti-nuclear documentary War
and Peace on Sunday, 15^th October at 10.30 AM

While Father, Son and Holy War took 11 years in
court, War and Peace has had its own share of
legal and extra legal battles.

A chronology of events

1. In February 2002 “War and Peace” a 163 minute
anti-nuclear documentary won the Best Film/Video
award at the Mumbai International Film Festival.

2. A few months later the Central Board of Film
Certification under the obvious influence of the
ruling BJP, refused to grant the film a
certificate unless 21 cuts were made.

3. After a long appeals procedure, the matter
finally went to court. In April 2003 the Bombay
High Court ruled that the film be granted a “U”
certificate without a single cut.

4. Ironically, in 2004, the same film won a
National award for the Best Non-feature film. It
was then submitted for telecast on Doordarshan.
On five previous occasions the courts have
ordered Doordarshan to show Anand’s national
award winning films.

5. The heads of Doordarshan and Prasar Bharati
agreed to telecast if certain sequences were
removed from the film. Anand refused and a long
battle of attrition followed.

6. With Anand threatening to return his National
award and go to court once again, DD agreed in
writing to telecast the film but attempted to set
the time slot at 11.30 PM on a Sunday night.
Anand countered that as his film was long and
would end only after 2.15 AM, this would
constitute “censorship by sleep”.

7. Finally in November 2005 DD agreed in writing
to telecast the entire film at 10.30 PM on two
successive Sundays. Almost a year then passed
with DD refusing to set the actual dates of
telecast.

8. In April 2004 DD dropped a bombshell by going
back on its commitment to telecast the entire
film and formally asking for cuts. Anand refused
this and the matter went into limbo.

9. On August 25 the Supreme Court passed a
landmark judgement criticizing DD and Prasar
Bharati for forcing Anand to go to court for the
telecast of each of his National Award winning
films and ordering the telecast of the uncut
Father, Son and Holy War.

10. On 8^th of October DD complied with the order.
This coming Sunday they will go a step further
and show War and Peace, for once without being
forced to do so by court.