P Sheshadri to lead signature campaign against removal of FCAT

The removal of the

Film Certification Appellate Tribunal

has led to a lot of unrest and debate in film circles. Several filmmakers have been vocal that this move is likely to cause a lot of problems and impediments for teams who will now have to appeal to the

High Court

directly in case of any issues with the local

Censor Board

. Multiple time National Award winning filmmaker

P Sheshadri

is now leading a campaign as a protest against this sudden move.

"The

FCAT

used to be a specialised body that dealt with such cases of filmmakers having a problem with the Censor Board. They understood cinema and operated within a specific amount of time. With the tribunal now removed and makers being asked to approach the High Court directly, it is a burden on filmmakers. I'm getting together filmmakers from the state for a signature campaign as a protest to understand this sudden decision. We plan to submit this to the

CBFC

head and Prakash Javadekar, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting," says Sheshadri.

Filmmaker KM Chaitanya agrees with Sheshadri that the non-availability of a tribunal will burden filmmakers, as the high courts are full up with cases and quick resolution is not guaranteed. "The Censor Board will have greater powers automatically, as many filmmakers might just accept whatever decision is put forth, for the fear of getting caught in a protracted battle in the court," he opines.

Filmmaker Babu Eashwar Prasad, whose film Gaali Beeja was first rejected by the Censor Board and then cleared by the revision committee after a long wait when he almost had to go to the tribunal, says, "My film took 11 months to be cleared. If one has to go to court, it will involve more money and time. Big-budget films can afford this and it might even add to their publicity, but the ones who are going to be affected are independant filmmakers."

National Award winning filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli shares the same feeling. "The courts are already burdened with a lot of cases. This will take unnecessary delays. Not all can afford this. I'm personally shocked by the sudden decision taken to remove this tribunal as this was helpful for many filmmakers," he opines.

Meanwhile, multiple award winning filmmaker

TS Nagabharana

says this decision might just be favourable for filmmakers. "The tribunal has been there, but just a minor fraction of films finally used to go there. The tribunal used to be functional through the year for just a handful of films. There have been instances where films have challenged this and gone to court thereafter. This allows that directly. Also, there is the revision committee always if one is not happy," says the filmmaker who is a part of the Censor Board and revision committee.