This special occasion of 15th August i.e. Independence Day reminds us of those heroes who sacrificed everything to free the country from the chains of slavery. However, this fight for freedom was not limited only to the borders, jails or Satyagraha grounds, this fight was fought with great strength on the silver screen of cinema also. When the wave of nationalism was rising in the country, Indian filmmakers, under the guise of mythological and historical stories, gave such a message of ‘Swaraj’ that the foundation of British rule was shaken. This is the reason why the British got so upset that after this they used the scissors of censorship on some Indian films and banned them overnight. Let us know the story of those historical films, which gave sleepless nights to the British government.
1. Bhakta Vidur (1921)
India’s first film to be banned: The silent film ‘Bhakta Vidur’, directed by Kanjibhai Rathore and made under the banner of Kohinoor Film Company, was the first film in the history of Indian cinema to be banned by the British government. It was said that this was a mythological film based on the Mahabharata character ‘Vidur’, but Dwarkadas Sampat, who played the main character on screen, was seen wearing ‘Gandhi Topi’ and Khadi kurta just like Mahatma Gandhi. Seeing the scenes in the film like spinning the charkha and talking about independence, the British understood that it was an open propaganda of Gandhian Satyagraha in the name of mythological story. It was written on the posters of the film, “This film will teach you how to achieve freedom.” The result was that the British banned it completely in Madras, Karachi and Mumbai Presidencies, calling it a threat to law and order.
2. Swarajya Toran (1930)
The silent film ‘Swarajyacha Torana’, directed by veteran filmmaker V. Shantaram, was based on the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laying the foundation of Hindavi Swarajya by conquering Torana Fort at the age of 16. The original title of the film was ‘Swarajyacha Toran’ (Gateway of Swaraj). At that time in 1930, the British were already scared by Gandhiji’s demand for ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’ and ‘Complete Swaraj’. At the end of the film, when the ‘Flag of Swaraj’ was hoisted by Shivaji Maharaj, the Censor Board was enraged. The British ordered that the word ‘Swaraj’ be removed immediately. The film was initially banned, then due to British pressure, V. Shantaram was forced to change the name of the film to ‘Udayakaal’ and also had to cut the scene of hoisting the Tricolour/Swaraj flag, only then could the film be released.
3. Tyagbhoomi (1943)
Famous Tamil director K. Subramaniam’s film ‘Tyaagabhoomi’ was based on the novel by writer ‘Kalki’ (Krishnamurthy). This film directly focused on the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, eradication of untouchability, women empowerment and boycott of foreign goods. Actual Congress rallies, Khadi movement and photographs of Gandhiji were used extensively in the film. When this film was released in ‘Gaiety Theatre’ of Madras, it ran to full house for 22 weeks. Seeing the growing patriotism among the audience, the British government got upset and imposed a strict ban on the film and sent police to the theaters and confiscated all the prints. But the director quietly distributed its copies to the public for free.
This history of cinema proves that the power of camera and stories was no less than a cannon or gun. Our film mates without any fear kept the torch of ‘Azadi’ lit on the screen, which the British could not extinguish even if they wanted to.
