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{{Short description|2002 Indian film by Anand Patwardhan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox film
|name = War and Peace
|image =
|alt = Jang Aur Aman
|caption =
|director = [[Anand Patwardhan]]
|producer =
|writer =
|narrator =
|starring =
|music =
|cinematography = Anand Patwardhan
|editing = Anand Patwardhan, Monica Wahi, Sanjiv Shah

|distributor =
|released = {{Film date|2002}}
|runtime = 135 minutes
|country = India
|language = English, Hindi
|budget =

}}

'''''War and Peace''''' (''Jang Aur Aman'') is a [[2002 in film|2002]] Indian documentary film directed by [[Anand Patwardhan]]. The film covers the [[Pokhran-II|Indian]] and [[Chagai-I|Pakistani]] nuclear weapons tests in 1998, as well as the nationalist rhetoric that accompanied these tests. It also explores the ill-effects of the Indian test on the surrounding population and the reactions to the test among the government and the public. The latter part of the film also covers the perception of nuclear weapons in Japan and the United States. Upon the film's completion, the [[Central Board of Film Certification|Indian censor board]] demanded that Patwardhan make 21 cuts before it could be released, including cutting all speeches by politicians. Patwardhan refused and took the matter to court; the Bombay high court ruled in his favour a year later, and the film was released without any cuts.

== Synopsis ==
The documentary begins with the assassination of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] by the assassin [[Nathuram Godse]] in 1948.<ref name="Stratton 2002">{{cite journal|last1=Stratton|first1=David|title=War and Peace|journal=Variety|date=18 March 2002}}</ref> The film then describes the years after Indian independence. In a voice-over, Patwardhan describes several events, including the [[United States]]' use of the nuclear bomb, the nuclear arms race during the [[Cold War]], and [[Smiling Buddha|India's first nuclear test]] in 1974.<ref name="Hess 2010">{{cite journal|last1=Hess|first1=Linda|title=Violence versus Nonviolence: A Call to Engage and Act|journal=Critical Asian Studies|date=21 October 2010|volume=35|issue=1|pages=153–159|doi=10.1080/14672710320000061523|s2cid=143713776}}</ref> Patwardhan summarizes them in the following manner: "The collapse of socialism saw a revival of bigotry. America had now become our role model."<ref name="BBC 2003">{{citation|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3142039.stm |title=Alone against India's nuclear nationalism |publisher=BBC News |date=12 August 2003}}</ref> The film then examines the growing nuclear nationalism in India. It covers the [[Hindutva|Hindu-nationalist]] rhetoric of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] that surrounded [[Pokhran-II|Indian nuclear weapons tests]] in 1998.<ref name="Stratton 2002"/> The film covers the "Global Peace March" that occurred following the nuclear tests at Pokhran, and the opposition it faced from activists of the [[Sangh Parivar]].<ref name="Hess 2010"/> It also covers the rise of religious extremism in both India and Pakistan.<ref name="Stratton 2002"/> Patwardhan travels to Pakistan, where he interviews several people, including school-girls participating in a debate on the use of the bomb.<ref name="Hess 2010"/> In the second half of the documentary, Patwardhan travels to Japan to interview the ''[[hibakusha]]'', survivors of the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] by the United States.<ref name="BBC 2003"/> The film then moves to the United States, where Patwardhan interviews curators of the [[Smithsonian Institution]]. The curators describe how the [[United States Congress]] blocked an attempt to create an exhibition on the American use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and the effects of nuclear weapons.<ref name="Hess 2010"/><ref name="BBC 2003"/> A postscript to the film shows the [[September 11 attacks]], and the response of the US.<ref name="Stratton 2002"/>

==Production==
[[File:Anand Patwardhan Viennale 2012.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A file photograph of Anand Patwardhan|director, producer and cameraman [[Anand Patwardhan]]]]
The documentary was shot for three years following Indian nuclear weapons tests in 1998. It sought to explore the Hindu-nationalist rhetoric that accompanied the test.<ref name="BBC 2003"/> It included footage shot in India, Pakistan, Japan, and the United States.<ref name="Hess 2010"/> The documentary was produced and directed by Patwardhan himself, who was also responsible for the camera work.<ref name="Official website">{{cite web|last1=Patwardhan|first1=Anand|title=War and Peace|url=http://patwardhan.com/wp/?page_id=120|website=patwardhan.com|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref>

==Release and censorship==
The [[Central Board of Film Certification]], often referred to as the Indian Censor Board, asked Patwardhan to make 21 cuts before the documentary could be released.<ref name="NYT 2002">{{citation|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E4D6143CF937A15751C1A9649C8B63 |title=Filmmaker's Battle to Tell India's Story in India |work=The New York Times |date=24 December 2002}}</ref> Among the scenes that were ordered to be cut were the killing of Mahatma Gandhi by the Hindu-nationalist assassin Nathuram Godse in 1948, as well as scenes critical of leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which held the central government at that point.<ref name="NYT 2002"/> The board also asked Patwardhan to cut scenes depicting an exposé of corruption in the defence department of the NDA government by [[Tehelka|''Tehelka'' magazine]], as well as all speeches by politicians and the prime minister.<ref name="Bhowmik 2002">{{cite journal|last1=Bhowmik|first1=Somesvar|title=Politics of Film Censorship: Limits of Tolerance|journal=Economic & Political Weekly|date=31 August 2002|volume=37|issue=35|pages=3574–3577|jstor=4412538}}</ref> Patwardhan refused to cut the scenes, stating that this was because the scenes were of politically sensitive issues.<ref name="NYT 2002"/> As a result, the film was banned for over a year. However, after a court battle, the film was screened without a single cut.<ref name="BBC 2003"/> As with his previous films, Patwardhan also successfully petitioned the court to force the national broadcaster, [[Doordarshan]], to show this film on its national network. It was commercially released in June 2005.<ref name="Tehelka 2005">{{citation |url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main13.asp?filename=In070205Short_is.asp |title=War and Peace hits the box office for the first time in India |work=[[Tehelka]] |date=25 June 2005 |access-date=1 August 2013 |archive-date=12 September 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912213520/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main13.asp?filename=In070205Short_is.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Reception and analysis==
''Tehelka'' magazine called the film a "monumental event for Indian cinema."<ref name="Tehelka 2005"/> A review in the magazine ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' stated that the three-hour length of the documentary was a problem, and that it was "long-winded and discursive." However, it said the content of the film was of "immense interest and importance in reminding the viewer of the threat to world peace posed by continuing posturing on the subcontinent."<ref name="Stratton 2002"/> In a review, scholar [[Linda Hess]] stated that the film was too long, but that the importance of the content and the skill of the producer made it worth watching. Hess states that the themes of the film included the rise of religious bigotry and militarism in Indian politics, the nuclear arms race triggered by the United States, and at the largest scale, violence and non-violence.<ref name="Hess 2010"/> The film repeatedly uses images of Mahatma Gandhi juxtaposed with footage that depicts militant ideologies in both India and Pakistan, such as footage of an [[Islamist]] rally in Pakistan calling for Islamic world domination, followed by a rally of the [[Shiv Sena]], which calls for a world dominated by Hindutva.<ref name="Hess 2010"/> Hess goes on to say that the Patwardhan's depiction of the film's complex content has a sense of irony and humor, and that "his eye and voice are unsentimental, his intellect acute."<ref name="Hess 2010"/>

== Awards ==
* Grand Prize, 2002 Earth Vision Film Festival (Tokyo)<ref name="icarusfilms">{{Citation|url=http://icarusfilms.com/new2002/wandp.html |title=War and Peace: Jang Aur Aman |publisher=ICARUS Films |access-date=2013-08-03}}</ref>
* Best Film and International Jury Prize, 2002 [[Mumbai International Film Festival]]<ref name="icarusfilms" />
* International Film Critics' Award (FIPRESCI), 2002 [[Sydney Film Festival]]<ref name="icarusfilms" />
* Best Documentary, 2003 [[Karachi International Film Festival]]<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.karafilmfest.com/pastkaras_2003/pastkaras_2003_awardcitations.html |title=3rd KaraFilm Festival |publisher=Karachi International Film Festival |access-date=2013-08-03}}</ref>
* Gold Award by Indian Documentary Producer's Association in 2002<ref name="patwardhan">{{Citation|url=http://www.patwardhan.com/films/warpeace.htm |title=War and Peace |publisher=Anand Patwardhan Website |access-date=2013-08-03}}</ref>
* Best Documentary, 2003 International Video Festival, Kerala<ref name="patwardhan" />
* Silver Dhow, 2003 Zanzibar International Film Festival<ref name="patwardhan" />
* 2004 [[National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film]], India<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.dff.nic.in/51nationalfilmawards.htm |title=51st National Film Awards - 2004 |publisher=[[Directorate of Film Festivals]] |access-date=2013-08-03}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb title|id=0311356|title=War and Peace}}
*[http://www.patwardhan.com/films/warpeace.htm 'War and Peace' (''Jang Aur Aman'')]

{{DEFAULTSORT:War And Peace (2002 Film)}}
[[Category:Indian documentary films]]
[[Category:2002 films]]
[[Category:Anand Patwardhan]]
[[Category:Documentary films about nuclear war and weapons]]
[[Category:Documentary films about nuclear technology]]
[[Category:Anti-nuclear films]]
[[Category:Anti-nuclear movement in India]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons programme of India]]
[[Category:Indian nuclear weapons testing]]
[[Category:Film censorship in India]]
[[Category:Censored films]]
[[Category:Films subject to a lawsuit]]
[[Category:Works subject to expurgation]]
[[Category:Films directed by Anand Patwardhan]]
[[Category:2002 Indian films]]

War and Peace (2002 film) - Revision history

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