Dibakar Banerjee won the National Award for his film Khosla Ka Ghosla.
After writers and artists, now filmmakers have decided to return awards to protest against what they call rising intolerance.
A group of 10 filmmakers, including Dibakar Banerjee and Anand Patwardhan, announced today that they would return their national awards to protest against the "threat to diversity and freedom of speech."
The filmmakers condemned the murders of rationalists, including senior Kannada writer professor MM Kalburgi, and recent killings over beef and cow slaughter rumours. (Also Read:
FTII Students Call Off Strike, Say Protests Will Continue)
"We are disenchanted with what is happening in the country," said Mr Patwardhan at a press conference in Mumbai.
The filmmakers said the "government must reveal its commitment to protect freedom of expression."
Over 40 writers have returned their awards or quit their posts in top literary body Sahitya Akademi giving the same reason.
"Murders of rationalists are not random acts of violence. People being murdered for their beliefs and opinions... If we don't protest now, we're in danger of being part of flattening diversity," the filmmakers said in a statement to the President and the Prime Minister.
The mob killing of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri over beef-eating rumours "has shattered our faith in the spirit of tolerance that is the core of our robust democracy," said the statement.
Alleging that BJP supporters had been part of the mob, the filmmakers said: "No condemnation is complete without naming the politically powerful who scripted this attack."
The filmmakers also spoke out in support of the students of Pune's Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) who have been protesting against the government's choice of small-time TV actor Gajendra Chauhan as chairman. The students called off their strike today but said their protests would continue. "Returning my National Award for
Khosla ka Ghosla is not easy. What we teach and learn today is what we live tomorrow. FTII students are asking for right gurus. Why should they become criminals?" said Dibakar Banerjee.
On Tuesday, India's top scientists high-profile scientists also came out with a strong statement expressing their "sadness and growing anxiety at statements and actions" that run counter to reason and constitutional rights.
The Inter-Academy Panel on Ethics in Science, which represents over 2000 of the best scientists, reminded the government that reason and scientific temper must be protected.