Mary Kom's biopic may get knocked out in her own state Manipur

The biopic on the five-time women’s world boxing champion and Olympic bronze medalist Mary Kom is all ready and slated for a countrywide release on September 5. The biopic traces Mary’s life as a woman’s single-minded rise to acclaim - from her humble roots to world titles and the finals in the London Games, against all odds.

Well-known Bollywood director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, has produced the film and Omung Kumar has directed it. However, the biopic Mary Kom may not get a screening in her own state Manipur as Hindi films are banned unconstitutionally in the state for more than a decade and half.

According to some sources and hearsay, the ban was imposed by separatist organisations after the release of Mani Rathnam’s “Dil Se” which according to them showed this North East state in bad light. These separatist organizations felt Hindi movies undermined Manipur’s culture. And the ban was imposed thence on.

While the government authorities are mum over the issue, even a Hindi TV serial made by the chairman of the Manipur Film Forum L Surjakanta Sharma was banned. Not only this, even the attempts of Mohen Naorem - the organizer of the Imphal International Short Film Festival to screen Hindi short films at the festival came to a naught as he didn’t get the necessary permission to screen them in the recent past.