There was a numbing stillness in the crowd as Raj Amit Kumar’s debut film `Faces of Unfreedom’ (Blemished Light), which had its Indian premiere at International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) on Saturday concluded. The applause came slowly as though the viewers had been severely jolted and they needed time to recover.The film, which grapples sexuality and Muslim fundamentalism that later morphs into a searing account of violence and identity has also left the censor board flustered that the film has been denied a theatrical release in India unless director chops off some scenes.
Amit Kumar, a Florida-based filmmaker who holds a PhD in cinema studies, said that he wouldn’t have any cuts in the film. “I am planning to approach Supreme Court against the censor board if they won’t let me release the film without eliminating certain scenes,“ Amit Kumar said.
The film which runs two parallel stories based in New Delhi and New York has composed unnerving scenes of torture which left the viewers so disturbed that some of them actually walked up to the director and told him that they felt uneasy . “I grew up in Muzaffarnagar and I have seen brutal violence in the name of religion,“ he said. T h e film’s heart-stopping moment comes in the climax where a cop has to deal with his daughter resolutely clinging on to her sexuality which makes him say , “You made me feel naked“.
“If anyone asks whether such things happen in India, I would say yes. I know it personally,“ said Amit Kumar adding that he didn’t want to talk much about his past. He took seven years to put together his debut film.They would complete one schedule and run out of funds, would wait for months before they gathered enough money to go through the next schedule.
The film which involves frontal nudity , elaborate lovemaking scenes between women gave Amit Kumar a tough time finding the leads for his film. “The big actresses declined to do the role. I ran auditions for two months,“ he said. Preeti Gupta and Bhavani Lee who play the women lovers in the film were chosen after a tedious search. While shooting the intimate scenes, both women wanted it to be treated aesthetically.