Creative clamps irk filmmakers
Stills from I, Me aur Main and Inkaar
The Censor Board seems to have gone a step further in clamping down on the creative freedom of filmmakers. The board has recently asked Kapil Sharma, the director of the upcoming Bollywood film, I Me Aur Main, to replace the word ‘sleep’ with the word ‘stay’, in the television promos of the film. Even in Sudhir Mishra’s last film, Inkaar, the Board asked the word ‘sex’ to be changed to ‘adjust’ for the TV promo.
Telugu director Nandini Reddy feels that filmmakers are becoming soft targets of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), because of which cinema is being pushed back to the ‘dark ages’. Her recent Telugu romantic-drama Jabardasth, is a victim. The words Allah Allah from a song in the film have been changed to Halla Gulla because the CBFC felt it could hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community.
We talk to some city youngsters and young filmmakers who feel that it is time the Censor Board gets more progressive in its approach and modifies its rules according to the present times.
“The case of cultural persecution or restricting freedom of expression is not limited only to the Censor Board but also involves many other state governments, who ban movies, books and theatre works as per their own political ideologies. Take the case of Vishawaroopam in Tamil Nadu or the attempts by right wing groups to botch up screenings of Parzania in Gujarat and the decision to blur visuals of the Tibetan flag in Rockstar,” says Nishant Gupta, a city youngster.
Younger generation feels that the mere replacement of words is no solution to the problem. Karan Katyal, a second year Delhi University student says, “I don’t understand why the Censor Board has to insult the intelligence of the common viewer by resorting to antics like replacing the word ‘sleep’ with ‘stay’. Do they think our generation belongs to the Ice Age? How is it offensive anyway? The modern viewer is progressive and wants to see his own life mirrored along with his lingo and style. The Board should rather rethink its guidelines on what it wants to keep and what it wants to edit keeping in mind the current viewership of India.”
Madhureeta Anand, a city-based filmmaker says, “The filmmakers feel that they are treated like kids by Board, which is constantly monitoring and doubting their creative potential. If the Board has issues with the content why doesn’t it start grading films judiciously. With constant interference from the authorities at varying occasions, the creativity and the quality of the film suffers, which is ultimately a loss of the viewers and the filmmakers.”
Director Onir agrees, “We are being scrutinised so myopically that creativity is being compromised. If the Censor Board feels the movie contains adult content why can’t it slot it for say post 9 pm. There is a need to revaluate the different certifications in today’s context.”
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