Entertainment | The Voice of Hind Rajab: Opposition MPs Request Ashwini Vaishnaw’s Intervention
New Delhi: Several opposition members of parliament have written to Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, seeking his intervention after the Central Board of Film Certification reportedly declined certification to the Oscar-nominated film 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' in an oral communication. In a letter, the ministers said, "We, the undersigned Members of Parliament, write to express our deep concern regarding reports that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has orally declined certification to the internationally acclaimed film The Voice of Hind Rajab, thereby effectively preventing its public exhibition in India. We earnestly seek your good self's urgent personal intervention in this matter that bears significant implications for artistic freedom, institutional credibility and India's standing as a society committed to democratic values and cultural openness." "The Tunisian-produced film, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, is an internationally recognized and Oscar-nominated work based on the real-life killing of a young Palestinian child during the 2024 Gaza conflict. The film has received wide critical attention globally, reflecting its engagement with a subject of contemporary humanitarian concern. However, reports indicate that the distributor in India has been orally informed that certification may not be granted. Such an approach raises serious concerns as to whether considerations extraneous to the statutory framework governing film certification have influenced the decision-making process. The screening of a film is an exercise of artistic expression protected within the constitutional framework and cannot be made contingent upon perceived diplomatic relationships," they added. The Voice of Hind Rajab is a 2025 docudrama produced as a Tunisian-French-Palestinian collaboration. The film tells the story of a young Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year, along with six of her family members. Lately, several reports surfaced online alleging that the CBFC blocked the film's release in India. Speaking with Variety, the film's local distributor Manoj Nandwana revealed that 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' was submitted for certification in February, aiming for a release before the Oscar season. The initial release date was set for March 6, allowing Indian audiences more than a week to view the film before it competed in the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars. However, the film was not approved by the CBFC for a theatrical release, allegedly owing to fears that it would "break up" ties between India and Israel. "I told them: the India-Israel relationship is so strong that it's idiotic to think this movie will break it," Nadawana added, further noting that "The Voice of Hind Rajab" has been released in the U.S., U.K., Italy, France and many other countries that have a relationship with Israel." And now in the letter, Opposition MPs urged Ashwini Vaishnaw to look into the matter. "It is widely acknowledged that the above-mentioned film addresses issues of contemporary global relevance. Disagreement with the perspective presented in a film cannot, by itself, constitute a valid ground for restricting public exhibition. India's democratic strength lies in its confidence to permit diverse narratives to be examined and debated in the public sphere. Reliance on considerations beyond the statutory parameters for certification, including perceived geopolitical sensitivities, would create an undesirable precedent inconsistent with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression," the letter read. "India's civilizational ethos has long embraced plurality of thought and artistic interpretation. Engagement with complex or uncomfortable subjects has never diminished the strength of our democracy; rather, it has enriched public discourse and strengthened democratic resilience. The present issue therefore transcends an individual film and touches upon India's constitutional commitment to freedom of expression as well as the credibility of its regulatory institutions in the global cultural sphere. In this background, we earnestly urge the Government to issue urgent directions to the CBFC to ensure that the film The Voice of Hind Rajab is examined strictly in accordance with the constitutional principles governing freedom of expression, and that certification is granted at the earliest possible opportunity. India's democratic strength lies in its abiding faith that ideas, narratives, and artistic expressions must be tested in the open marketplace of ideas, rather than suppressed by prior restraint," it concluded. 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' is directed by Kaouther Ben Hania.
