HYDERABAD: After the screening of Umar Khalid’s documentary was cancelled at IIIT Hyderabad and NLSIU Bengaluru, students at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, organised a screening of Prisoner No. 626710 is Present on the campus on Wednesday.Students said the screening was organised as a space for solidarity and conversation.“The screening offered an opportunity to engage directly with the film’s questions about rights, accountability and the human cost of prolonged incarceration, while expressing solidarity with those affected by these failures of the justice system, including the Supreme Court,” a student told TOI via email.The screening was attended by a group of students on the campus.The documentary is not certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The CBFC has said that films can be publicly exhibited only after certification and that screening an uncertified film would violate the Cinematograph Act unless a specific exemption had been obtained.The screening at IIIT Hyderabad was cancelled last week after the CBFC flagged the proposed screening on X. IIIT Hyderabad had said the proposed event was not organised or authorised by the institute.Prisoner No. 626710 is Present, directed by filmmaker Lalit Vachani, is a documentary about Khalid, including his journey from student activist to his arrest in 2020 and subsequent incarceration.
