Dibakar Banerjee on shelved Netflix film ‘Tees’: A society gets the culture it deserves

The way production houses and streaming platforms are vetting content with political undertones, soon we could have a separate column in annual appraisals listing films that could not reach audiences due to self-censorship. One film that could not make it to year-enders in 2024 is Dibakar Banerjee’s Tees because of what he calls “casual suppression of freedom of speech.” One of the most original and influential voices in Indian cinema — who started his career with the tale of a Punjabi family’s struggle to reclaim their land in Khosla Ka Ghosla from a real estate shark — has chosen to tell the story of three generations of a Kashmiri brood set in a dystopian India. Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Manisha Koirala, Huma Qureshi, Shashank Arora, and Divya Dutta in pivotal roles — after the Netflix original was surprisingly put on hold by the streaming platform — Dibakar is showcasing Tees in non-ticketed shows at film societies for cinephiles and students, with the hope to find a new home for his labour of love that was “originally titled Ghar.” Screened at the Dharamshala Film Festival to a resounding applause, the title is drawn from a future date when some deeply agonising events unfold. However, those who know Hindi well would realise Tees also reflects the twinge that the characters in the film carry, and now it also indicates the pang of stillbirth that the filmmaker is grappling with. At the same time, I would be the cultural secretary of the Puja committee and put up plays or sanction money for decorating the idols.” Dibakar remembers how in his teens and early adulthood he would put the vermilion paste on his forehead and get on a truck to go for the visrajan chanting ‘Durga Mai Ki Jai’ while being a complete atheist.