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India bans 'The Voice of Hind Rajab', citing threats to relationship with Israel
Middle East Eye·🕐 1 sa önce·👁 0 görüntülenme
India bans 'The Voice of Hind Rajab', citing threats to relationship with Israel Shraddha Joshi on Fri, 03/20/2026 - 15:01 Film board censors Oscar-nominated docudrama about five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza by Israeli forces Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania holds a portrait of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab during the red carpet event for the movie "The Voice of Hind Rajab" at Venice Lido in September 2025 (Tiziana Fabi/AFP) Off India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is blocking the release of Oscar-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab because of the threat it could pose to the relationship between India and Israel, according to a report by Variety. Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama tells the story of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza who was deliberately killed by Israeli soldiers after they fired 335 bullets inside the car from which she was waiting to be rescued. The film received a 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival in September. The Voice of Hind Rajab’s India-based distributor, Manoj Nandwana, told Middle East Eye he had submitted it for central approval in February, in anticipation of a March release. However, the CBFC blocked the film, reportedly telling Nandwana that “if it gets released it would break up the India-Israel relationship”, according to the Variety report. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Nandwana told MEE that the denial was "bad timing", as the film was screened to the CBFC on 27 February, just a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted his state visit to Israel. The distributor said he was not surprised by the decision given that the film had been banned from screenings at film festivals across India, including in Goa, Bangalore, Pune and Kerala. Badie Ali, co-founder of Watermelon Pictures, the Palestinian-American film production company that supported the film's production, told MEE: “When we heard the Indian film board’s justification, that releasing this film could damage India-Israel relations, our first thought was: since when is a five-year-old girl’s cry for help a diplomatic threat?” “Indian audiences don’t need to be protected from a true story,” Ali added. “Censoring this film doesn’t serve India’s interests. It only tells the world that Hind’s story still frightens those in power.” 'Censoring this film doesn’t serve India’s interests. It only tells the world that Hind’s story still frightens those in power' - Badie Ali, co-founder of Watermelon Pictures Ben Hania, the director, reacted to the Indian board’s decision on Instagram, writing: “Is the honeymoon between the ‘world’s largest democracy’ and the ‘only democracy in the Middle East’ so fragile that a film could break it?” Last month, Modi conducted a state visit to Israel where he and his counterpart, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reaffirmed the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. India is the world’s largest purchaser of Israeli weapons, many of which are used for surveillance and control in Indian-occupied Kashmir. India has also provided arms and labour to Israel throughout Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the two governments have continued to enter new agreements on defence and trade. Nandwana's team has applied for a revision of the decision, and is hoping "some miracle can happen" so that the "maximum people" will have the chance to see the film. The CBFC did not respond to a request for comment. Film News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is blocking the release of Oscar-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab because of the threat it could pose to the relationship between India and Israel, according to a report by Variety.Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama tells the story of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza who was deliberately killed by Israeli soldiers after they fired 335 bullets inside the car from which she was waiting to be rescued. The film received a 23-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival in September.The Voice of Hind Rajab’s India-based distributor, Manoj Nandwana, told Middle East Eye he had submitted it for central approval in February, in anticipation of a March release. However, the CBFC blocked the film, reportedly telling Nandwana that “if it gets released it would break up the India-Israel relationship”, according to the Variety report.Nandwana told MEE that the denial was "bad timing", as the film was screened to the CBFC on 27 February, just a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted his state visit to Israel.The distributor said he was not surprised by the decision given that the film had been banned from screenings at film festivals across India, including in Goa, Bangalore, Pune and Kerala.Badie Ali, co-founder of Watermelon Pictures, the Palestinian-American film production company that supported the film's production, told MEE: “When we heard the Indian film board’s justification, that releasing this film could damage India-Israel relations, our first thought was: since when is a five-year-old girl’s cry for help a diplomatic threat?”“Indian audiences don’t need to be protected from a true story,” Ali added. “Censoring this film doesn’t serve India’s interests. It only tells the world that Hind’s story still frightens those in power.”'Censoring this film doesn’t serve India’s interests. It only tells the world that Hind’s story still frightens those in power'- Badie Ali, co-founder of Watermelon PicturesBen Hania, the director, reacted to the Indian board’s decision on Instagram, writing: “Is the honeymoon between the ‘world’s largest democracy’ and the ‘only democracy in the Middle East’ so fragile that a film could break it?”Last month, Modi conducted a state visit to Israel where he and his counterpart, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reaffirmed the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. India is the world’s largest purchaser of Israeli weapons, many of which are used for surveillance and control in Indian-occupied Kashmir.India has also provided arms and labour to Israel throughout Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the two governments have continued to enter new agreements on defence and trade. Nandwana's team has applied for a revision of the decision, and is hoping "some miracle can happen" so that the "maximum people" will have the chance to see the film.The CBFC did not respond to a request for comment.
