Venice Title ‘Pooja, Sir: Rajagunj’ Released in Nepal After Extensive Censorship Battle: ‘An Attack on the Fundamental Right to Freedom of Speech’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran After world premiering at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, director-producer Deepak Rauniyar‘s crime thriller “Pooja, Sir: Rajagunj” has finally released in its home country of Nepal, but not without hurdles.

The film is now in its second week in Nepali theaters, following a contentious battle with government censors that left the film with significant alterations.

Rauniyar’s first feature, “Highway,” premiered at the 2012 Berlinale and played Locarno, while his 2016 sophomore feature “White Sun” won awards at the Venice, Palm Springs, Fribourg and Singapore festivals.

He is also a Berlinale Talents alumnus and his short film “Four Nights” played at Berlinale Shorts in 2022. The politically charged film, which follows Detective Inspector Pooja (Asha Magrati) investigating a kidnapping in a fictional border town during the 2015 Madhesi protests, has been subjected to what Rauniyar calls “an attack on the fundamental right to freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution.” According to Rauniyar, among the most controversial cuts mandated by Nepal’s Censor Board was the removal of archival footage showing current Prime Minister K.P.