Film on Sonia Gandhi to see the light of day

Sonia Gandhi

A feature film loosely based on the life of Sonia Gandhi, the chief of India's ruling Congress party, is set for release after its makers won a two-year court battle against the censor board.
The movie Sonia, directed by Thakur Dinesh Kumar in 2005, will see the light of the day later this year, most probably on Sonia Gandhi's birthday on December 9.
The film is about a non-resident Indian, a graduate from one of the United States' best cinema schools, who is asked to make a film on Sonia Gandhi and the recent political scene in India. It shows the making of the film, the hurdles faced in choosing the heroine for it, arranging funds to make the movie and, above all, the political opposition.
Kumar had challenged the Censor Board's direction that he seek Sonia Gandhi's approval before releasing the film. However, he moved the Mumbai High Court against the Censor Board order, contending this was against the fundamental right of self-expression.
Kumar told the media, "I have the freedom to make a creative film. I can be critical but not defamatory and I should not misrepresent facts. The High Court has ruled that there is no provision for personal approval under the Cinematography Act".
He said the censor board has cleared the film with "minor cuts".
Kumar claimed that Sonia is neither a propaganda film nor a biopic. It's a fiction, a dramatised piece of her life. It has been researched and is "not a figment of our imagination".
The film does not have a star studded cast and no flashy sets usually associated with Bollywood stuff, acknowledged Kumar claiming "It is however rich in human and emotional content".
Meanwhile, Jagmohan Mundra's proposed biographical film on Sonia Gandhi is yet to take off because the Congress party has slapped a legal notice on the producer asking him not to go ahead with the project.