Chand Bujh Gaya

Chand Bujh Gaya (English: The Moon Is Eclipsed) is a 2005 Bollywood drama thriller film directed by Sharique Minhaj in his directorial debut and featuring Faisal Khan and Shama Sikander in leading roles. The film is set against the backdrop of the 2002 Godhra train burning. Both the Central Board of Film Certification CBFC) and its appellate authority, the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal refused to grant a certificate to the film. The film was released only after the Bombay High Court quashed the decisions of CBFC and FCAT.

Chand Bujh Gaya
DVD cover of the film
Directed bySharique Minhaj
Produced byFaaiz Anwar
Written by
  • Zuben Dr.
  • Qamruddin Falak
Screenplay by
  • Zuben Dr.
  • Qamruddin Falak
Story by
  • Zuben Dr.
  • Qamruddin Falak
Starring
Narrated byMukesh Khanna
Music by
  • Ghulam Ali
  • Ghani
  • Kanak Raj
CinematographyTaposh Mandal
Edited byRanjan Suryawanshi
Production
company
F.A. Picture International
Release date
  • 18 March 2005 (2005-03-18) (India)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹1.75 crore (US$250,000)[1]
Box officeest. ₹15.5 lakh (US$22,000)[2]

Plot

Tusshar Mehta (Usman Raza), a businessman, has arranged the marriage of his son Rahul (Faisal Khan) to Meghna (Aliza). However, Rahul is in love with Saveen (Shama Sikander), and Meghna steps away from the marriage when she comes to know of their love. Rahul and Saveen board the Sabarmati Express to meet her father Imran Jafri (Ishrat Ali) who lives in Ahmedabad. Before the couple reach their destination, the train is set on fire by a mob near Godhra Junction railway station. Escaping from the mob, they take refuge at the house of Payal (Sanam), a journalist. The train burning sparks a communal riot. Differences emerge between Rahul and Saveen while they try to protect themselves from the riot, eventually succumbing to it.

Cast
  • Faisal Khan as Rahul T. Mehta
  • Shama Sikander as Saveen I. Jafri
  • Pratap Singh as Chief Minister
  • Faraaz Khan as Adarsh
  • Sanam as Payal
  • Aliza as Meghna
  • Ishrat Ali as Imran Jafri
  • Mukesh Ahuja as Editor
  • Shabnam Kapoor as Namrata
  • Raja Kapse as Anil Sharma
  • Neha Bam as Asha Sharma
  • Usman Raza as Tusshar Mehta
  • Kamya Punjabi as Dancer (special appearance)
  • Farzan Qureshi as Child Artist
  • Saima Qureshi as Child Artist
  • Baby Farhat Qureshi as Child Artist
  • Shameem Khan in special appearance

Production

Film writer and lyricist Faaiz Anwar co-produced the film, made in five months and with a budget of Rs. 1.75 crores. He stated that the story was "truth ... gathered through numerous newspapers".[1] The film was the directorial debut of Sharique Minhaj, who was working as an equipment supplier for a television channel during the 2002 Gujarat riots.[3]

Chand Bujh Gaya marked the first collaboration between Faisal Khan and Minhaj. They would later come together for Chinar Daastaan-E-Ishq (2015).[4] Mahesh Bhatt had warned Anwar, stating: "you have put your hands in dynamite, not fire".[1] The character based on Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, was played by Pratap Singh, who was subsequently offered the same role in a television serial, which he declined.[5][6] In a 2007 interview, Anwar called the film "an attempt to bring about a sense of understanding between Hindus and Muslims".[7]

Certification controversy

The producers had applied for a censor certificate in September 2003.[8] The Examination Committee of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) initially refused to certify the film, fearing that certain visuals and dialogues in the film may have the "danger of inciting communal violence".[9] Upon discussion with the committee, the filmmakers removed certain scenes, reducing the footage to 10,966 feet (3,342 m) from 11,602 feet (3,536 m). Despite the cuts, the committee refused to certify the film, citing that "the Gujarat violence is a live issue and a scar on national sensitivity. Exhibition of the film will certainly aggravate the situation".[9][10] One key objection made by the board was the likeness between the film's villain and Modi. The CBFC had also denied certificates to two documentaries based on the 2002 Gujarat riots: Rakesh Sharma's Final Solution and Rakesh Pimple's Aakrosh.[11] The producers expressed their inability to make any further cuts to the film as that would "dilute the message of communal harmony" the film intended to portray. To this, the CBFC, in January 2004, finally refused to grant certification to the film in its existing form.[9]

The producers filed an appeal against the CBFC's decision before the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) in April 2004; FCAT found the CBFC's decision correct and affirmed that the depiction of explicit violence and resemblance of its characters to real-life people could ignite communal violence and "public disharmony".[12][13] Rakesh Sinha, a Tribunal member, stated: "There seems to be a sort of ideological prejudice in the making of the film"; he felt that it gave the impression that the "Chief Minister [was] engineering the riots".[14] He added that one character in the film "not only looks like Modi, he talks and moves like him", and the film "deliberately" targeted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.[15] The producers refused to cast another actor for the role of the Chief Minister.[14]

The filmmakers petitioned the Bombay High Court against the decisions of CBFC and FCAT as encroachment on the right to free speech and expression. A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud viewed the film and reached the conclusion that the "theme of the film is the absolute insensibility of violence. The film does not extol violence nor does it condemn any community as having taking recourse to violence".[9][12] In F.A. Picture International v. CBFC AIR 2005 Bom 145, the bench observed that CBFC's and FCAT's refusal to grant a certificate to the film was a "clear infringement of the fundamental right of the producer under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution", and said they had "misconceived the scope and function of their powers and jurisdiction". The bench in its judgment dated 5 November 2004 directed the CBFC to grant appropriate certification to the film.[9][16]

Release

Chand Bujh Gaya was released on 18 March 2005 with a U certificate, implying unrestricted public exhibition.[17][18] However, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, banned the film within Gujarat.[1][19] The film was dubbed into German and titled Der verloschnene Mond.[20]

Soundtrack
Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicPerformer(s)Length
1."Yaad Aye Woh Din, Jaane Kyon Tere Bin"Faaiz AnwarKanak RajHariharan 
2."Chupke Chupke De Jaati Hai Pyar Ka Paigham Teri Aankhen"Faaiz AnwarGhaniKumar Sanu, Pamela Jain 
3."Raheta Nahin Hai Chand Kabhi Chandni Se Dur"Faaiz AnwarGhulam AliKavita Krishnamurti 
4."Chand Bujh Gaya"Faaiz AnwarKanak RajKumar Sanu 
5."Tujhey Zindagi Ki Tarah"Faaiz AnwarKanak RajPreetha Mazumdar 
6."Yeh Apna Hindustan"Faaiz AnwarKanak RajKinnari 
7."Julf Meri Laheraai Re"Faaiz AnwarKanak RajVaishali Samant 

In its review of the film's soundtrack album, The Hindu noted that the title song "[caused] discomfort" but was appreciative of the three songs: "Chupke Chupke De Jaati Hai Pyaar Ka Paigaam Teri Yaadein", "Rehta Nahin Hai Chand Kabhi Chandni Se Dur", and "Zulf Meri Lehrai Re", calling them "pretty soft and romantic". It opined that from a child's perspective, the song "Yeh Apna Hindustan" "[did] sound good" and "Yaad Aaye woh Din" was a "mood melody".[21]

Reception

Upon its release, Chand Bujh Gaya performed poorly at the box office. According to the Indian film trade website Box Office India, the film had a worldwide first-week collection of ₹10.00 lakh (US$14,000) and a worldwide gross of approximately ₹15.52 lakh (US$22,000), thus earning the label of "disaster".[2]

Rohit Murari wrote in his 3-star review for Fullhyd.com that the film "scores a few points - for its blatant honesty" and Sikander was the "best thing to have happened to the movie". He found the film's music a "typical B-grade affair" and concluded his review by saying: "[T]here [was] no clear, or even unclear, objective behind making the movie".[22]

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References
  1. Siddiqui, Rana (11 March 2005). "Waiting for the moon". The Hindu. New Delhi. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  2. "Chand Bujh Gaya". Box Office India. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  3. "Chand Bujh Gaya maker plans film on Abdul Lateef". Hindustan Times. Indo-Asian News Service. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  4. "Aamir Khan's brother Faisal set for Bollywood comeback with Mental". Hindustan Times. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  5. Salam, Ziya Us (13 August 2004). "Ideology shackled". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  6. Khosla, Mukesh (10 November 2002). "Once is enough!". The Tribune. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  7. Shah, Prerna (7 September 2007). "All sorts of songs find a way in: Faaiz". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  8. "Pass riots film without cuts, HC tells censors". The Times of India. 6 November 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  9. "F.A. Picture International vs Central Board Of Film ... on 5 November, 2004". IndiaKanoon.org. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  10. Shah, A. P. (25 November 2011). "The most precious of all freedoms". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  11. Sen, Swagat (22 August 2004). "The unkindest cut". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  12. Godbole, Sagar (15 June 2016). "Before 'Udta Punjab', five other movies that were rescued by the courts". Scroll.in. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  13. "Padmavati banned in Gujarat, UP: 22 films that shared the same fate as Sanjay Leela Bhansali film". Hindustan Times. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  14. "CBFC rejects film on Gujarat riots". Outlook. Press Trust of India. 16 July 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  15. "Hindu boy meets Muslim girl on Sabarmati Express to Godhra...Cut: The Indian Express". Zee News. 13 July 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  16. "HC tells Censor Board to give certificate to film on Guj riots". Outlook. Press Trust of India. 5 November 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  17. "Chand Bujh Gaya (U)". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  18. "About Us". Central Board of Film Certification. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  19. "Bollywood gets 'Modi'fied". Deccan Chronicle. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  20. "Chand Bujh Gaya - Der verloschnene Mond [DVD] [Region 2] (Import) (Keine deutsche Version)" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  21. "Metro Plus : Chords & Notes". The Hindu. 3 May 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  22. Murari, Rohit. "Chand Bujh Gaya Review". Fullhyd.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
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