Farhan Akhtar on Padmavati, IFFI row: There's lack of unity in film fraternity

'Unfortunately, we also have to blame ourselves. We should not just be pointing fingers,' said Bollywood star Farhan Akhtar while addressing the controversy surrounding 'Padmavati' and retraction of two regional movies from IFFI

'Unfortunately, we also have to blame ourselves. We should not just be pointing fingers,' said Bollywood star Farhan Akhtar while addressing the controversy surrounding 'Padmavati' and retraction of two regional movies from IFFI. Apart from Marathi film 'Nude' and Malayalam movie 'S Durga' being dropped by the centre from the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum-opus has still been facing protests from certain sections.

Farhan Akhtar

The 43-year-old, while speaking on the sidelines of a book launch event, addressed these issues and stressed upon the lack of unity in the film fraternity. "Everyone gets scared when it's there film on the line. It is a small industry... There are not that many people. If they don't come together to create an environment where they themselves can function in, the way they want to, nobody else is going to do it for them," he said.

The 'Dil Dhadakne Do' star further said that audiences should not be treated as children. "This is not just about those two films or just about 'Padmavati'. This has happened in the past with many films. I am totally against anything being banned. I genuinely believe we should stop treating our audiences as children. We should allow them to grow.'

'We should allow them to be exposed to different kinds of ideas to counter cultures, to counter thinking. It's very important for the development of any nation that there are viewpoints which are not always in agreement with the majority.' The actor-director strongly opposed any kind of threat or violence.

'In cinema there's no such law that if a film is made you have to go and see it! You have the freedom to boycott the film. You can tell people to boycott the film. But you don't have the freedom to threaten somebody with grievous bodily harm or break somebody's theatre or cause damage in any way,' he concluded.

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