IFFI defers screening of MF Hussain documentary amid Hindu rights protests

Panaji: The organizers of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) today deferred the screening of a documentary on painter M F Husain amid protests by a Hindu rights group. Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) had threatened to demonstrate at the IFFI venues, if organizers went ahead with the screening of the documentary ‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’. [caption id=“attachment_141294” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“PTI”] [/caption] IFFI Director Shankar Mohan told reporters today that the section has been deferred pending legal opinion. “The petitioners (HJS) had said that the matter is subjudice,” he said, adding, “we don’t want to do anything illegal. We are taking legal opinion.” The documentary, under the homage section, was to be screened today. Husain, who earned both fame and controversy with his paintings, died in London in June this year at the age of 95. PTI