Censor thinks cuss ain't dirty

Ch Sushil Rao / TNN / Sep 9, 2006, 02:16 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

The sensible board, in its latest move cleared yet another cuss word in a Telugu film.

HYDERABAD: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is improving day by day in 'realistic' terms. The sensible board, in its latest move cleared yet another cuss word in a Telugu film.
A hurt, furious and determined Nandita Das spits out 'Badc..'— means a 'pimp'— in KNT Sastry's 'Kamli' over her lost male child. It can be a small shock treatment to Hyderabadis, but director K N T Sastry has brilliantly managed to convince it to the CBFC.
The cuss word is so frequently used on the streets of Hyderabad that it did not disturb the otherwise reticent Censor Board. Again, Nandita Das uttering an abusive word is not an exception.
There are a handful of instances where a more open CBFC is accepting reality like never before and okaying the cuss words. In 1998, Nagesh Kukunoor got away with the 'F' word in 'Hyderabad Blues.'

More recently in 'Angrez'—a runaway hit on the life in Old City— a number of abusive words were mouthed. And what beats them all is the latest 'Hyd...bad Nawabs.'
If Hyderabad can really boast of its successful off-beat movies, it is going to be yet another matter of pride —the city-based movie makers have brought the cuss words out of the closet.
Interestingly, the city-dwellers too are responding positively to these ‘realistic’ presentations. "When such words reflect the reality or it becomes inevitable for the context, we clear it.

Of course, it may lead to discussions, but we can't help it. At the same time, there are certain limits to everything," CBFC regional officer T Vijay Kumar Reddy said.
The hallmark Hyderabadi abusive words will soon go 'all India' as well as 'international.'
"When I was working on the script for 'Hyd..bad Nawabs,' the words naturally got incorporated because they are part of the colloquial language and reflect reality. The censors should be more open about such things," Ramakrishna, more popularly known as RK, the producer and actor of the movie said.
From the way the censors cleared 'Omkara' with all those 'dirty' words, it appears that more 'reality' is in store.

About the Author

Ch Sushil Rao

Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.

End of Article