Beef Vindaloo

Indian audiences awaiting the release of the Oscar-winning film, No Country for Old Men, might have to wait even longer than expected. The eastern state of West Bengal has officially announced that the state government would not allow the film to be screened in India because it is directly against the ideals of Indian culture. The film, local government representatives say, preaches disrespect and hatred for older people and is therefore not in line with the values of Indian culture and heritage. Furthermore, the film also hurts the political sentiments of the people of the state.

While other state governments are yet to make a decision on this matter, the West Bengal government has also urged the Censor Board to officially ban the film in India unless they change the title, storyline and dialogue to a more acceptable quality. Censor Board Chief Sharmila Tagore said that while the Board has yet to make an official decision on this matter, she believes that an outright ban is the best way. “How can Indian youth that are already losing their values be exposed to a film that tells them that once a person grows old, he is no longer welcome at home.” She also felt that given India’s fragile political atmosphere, a film like this would be damaging to the political sensitivities of several people.

This is not the first time that this film has courted trouble for its controversial subject. The Caribbean country of Cuba has also declared that they would not allow the film to be screened in the country. The United States of America was hoping that with the standing down of Fidel Castro that the country would head towards a more relaxed regime have also expressed distress at this rather unfortunate step. In terms of India, there are no indications as to whether the ban of the film would affect the nuclear deal further. Currently, it is just the film buffs that are paying the price for political nitpicking.

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