Vivek Agnihotri’s award-winning film ‘Buddha In A Traffic Jam’ is set for a May release. But, besides that, the filmmaker keen to first show his long-completed film to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, sent several requests to the JNU authorities for it. However, despite several attempts to seek the permission for a screening, via emails and text messages, Agnihotri has not received any response from the varsity officials. The filmmaker shares that since the film revolves around student life and also echoes the recent happenings at the varsity, he was keen to hold a screening of his film there.
Agnihotri reveals that he wrote the film a few years ago prompted by the way a nexus of professors-intellectuals-NGOs and Naxalites was brainwashing students and using them as ‘intellectual terrorists’. “I found it disturbing,” he says. “It’s ironical that the film mirrors all that is happening in JNU today. The film exposes this nexus and perhaps, this is the reason that the film has found such resistance. Even after writing several letters, we haven’t obtained permission to screen the film in such institutes. But we are determined to tell the story,” adds Agnihotri.
The cast of ‘Buddha In A Traffic Jam’ includes Arunoday Singh, Mahie Gill, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi and Anchal Dwivedi.
The film premiered at the 2014 Mumbai International Film Festival and has been showcased at other festivals too.
