Shonali Bose chose not to stand when the national anthem was played in the cinema hall.
Shonali Bose was criticized for not standing up when the national anthem was played before watching a movie in a cinema hall.
Filmmaker Shonali Bose was reprimanded for not standing up during the playing of the national anthem at the theater where she had gone to watch the rumours. The Sky Is Pink director revealed that she visited a theater in Mumbai’s Juhu where she decided not to join the audience that stood for the anthem. While he revealed that he was criticized by many sitting in the theatre, he stands by his decision to sit as he feels the theater is an inappropriate place to ‘promote nationalism’.
She opened up about the incident for the first time, sharing a video of the incident on Instagram. She then spoke at length about the action with Mid-Day, revealing that she was labeled ‘disgusting’ and ‘unpatriotic’ for her act. She said that although she would love to sing the national anthem, “I wouldn’t do it in a theatre.”
“It is my government forcefully saying that this is how nationalist fervor can be created. I went to watch a movie with my friends. They all stood up for the national anthem, not me. A man behind me shouted that I was disgusting and a traitor. The woman next to him also joined in. I turned and told them to shut up. The lady was so clumsy that I could feel her feet on my chair. Although I was sure of what I was doing, my stomach tightened. Nobody wants to screw up,” she told the publication.
Shonali clarified that while she is defending her actions, she is not against the national anthem or the government. “I am not opposing the anthem, or the government. I think cinema halls are not the right place to shove nationalism down our throats. That is what I am opposing. It’s insulting that when people get up to show ‘respect’ they have popcorn in their mouths.
“Patriotism is being able to speak your mind and have a conscience. It is going to question the government at every step. I remember that during the Emergency, the government used to run black and white propaganda films in theatres. Looks like it,” concluded Shonali.
Shonali made her directorial debut in 2005 with Amu. After a long break, she returned to films as a writer and producer with Chittagong (2012). He returned to directing with Margarita with a Straw (2015) and directed The Sky Is Pink (2019), starring Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar. He also directed an episode of Modern Love: Mumbai (2022).
