A documentary on the hangman who executed rape and murder convict Dhananjoy Chatterjee last year is allegedly facing the wrath of the Marxist West Bengal administration for its "anti-establishment" line.

"One Day from a Hangman's Life", an 83-minute documentary on hangman Nata Mullick, was released commercially June 18 in the state-run Nandan II theatre but was withdrawn three days later, allegedly at the behest of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya.

"No theatre in the city dares to screen the film while Magsaysay winning writer-activist Mahasveta Devi is the only intellectual who dared to speak up against the 'injustice'," filmmaker Joshy Joseph told.

In the film, Joseph has criticised the Chief Minister for his "opinion in favour of capital punishment after an opinion poll overwhelmingly endorsed Dhananjoy's execution".

Mullick had carried out the hanging of rape and murder convict Dhananjoy Chatterjee Aug 14, 2004 here amidst unprecedented media coverage.

"One Day..." is a docu-drama of a day in July 2004 in the life Mullick who came under spotlight in the run up to the hanging.

"After the abrupt withdrawal of the film from Nadan-II June 21, we (Drik India, the producers) approached several venues for a proper screening. But the fear in the air is such that no one wants to be associated with an event viewed as an 'anti-establishment' move," Joseph said.

"We are hunting for a venue. We have also decided to write to Nandan authorities to rent out Nandan-I to us for three hours on any day at any time as we believe that Nandan belongs to all of us," said Joseph.

"The Nandan authorities told me the film at Nandan II was drawing more crowds than 'Bose: The Forgotten Hero' in Nandan I but only 40 minutes later after the chief minister visited the venue I was told the film was withdrawn," Joseph alleged.

"Nandan does not belong to the chief minister alone," he added.

"Intellectuals barring a few expressed their anguish confidentially. Mahasveta Devi however came forward to see the film and expressed her feelings in writing to us," Joseph said.

Mahasveta Devi said in a letter to Drik India: "I saw (the film) and was impressed.

"The treatment is entirely objective. No judgmental attitude towards other questions like whether death by hanging should or shouldn't be there. No moral attitude from the filmmaker. No questions about the morality of a death sentence.

"It's a bare and savage documentation of a day in a hangman's life. It's just another day. Of course, the hangman is deeply concerned as one Dhananjoy every five years means bread and butter for him, but somewhere he also understands.

"This film actually points towards the reality, which is today in every viewers' life."