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India has blocked the theatrical release of the Oscar-nominated film “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, a docudrama about the death of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The film’s Indian distributor, Manoj Nandwana of Jai Viratra Entertainment, told AFP on Saturday that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused to grant clearance for its release in India.
According to Nandwana, a CBFC member informed him that screening the film would “hamper India’s relations with Israel.” He said the board watched the film and made it clear it would not be approved for public release in the country. However, he added that he had not received any official written notification of the ban.
“The film has already been released worldwide, including in Israel itself. I don’t understand why it is considered bad or sensitive for Indian audiences,” Nandwana said. “It’s very strange.”
The movie was screened at an international film festival in Kolkata in November last year.
The film, directed by French-Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, tells the real-life story of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl who was killed in Gaza last year while her family was trying to flee the conflict.
India has significantly strengthened its ties with Israel in recent years in areas such as defence, agriculture, technology, and cybersecurity, while continuing to maintain its traditional diplomatic support for Palestinian statehood.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel for two days — his second visit since 2017 — just days before Israel and the United States launched airstrikes on Iran.
Opposition Congress leader and parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor criticised the decision to block the film, calling it “disgraceful.”
“In a democracy, the screening of a film reflects our society’s commitment to freedom of expression. It has nothing to do with government-to-government relations,” Tharoor wrote on X.
He added that the practice of banning films or books simply because they might offend foreign countries “must stop immediately” and described it as “unworthy of a mature democracy.”
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” was nominated for Best International Feature at this year’s Oscars but lost to the Norwegian film “Sentimental Value”. Last year, it won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, where it moved audiences to tears during its premiere.
