Beeps, blurs and cuts: Time for a rethink on CBFC

At a time when many a filmmaker is crying foul about the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) limiting their creative freedom by demanding removal of not only scenes but even words such as ‘cow’, ‘Gujarat’ and the like, director Shyam Benegal’s recent announcement must come as a relief. He said that the recommendations of the special committee headed by him, which had suggested that the CBFC should limit its functioning to issuing certificates to movies rather than censoring, may soon be implemented.The committee had also proposed a new category in certification such as ‘adult with caution' and also changing the existing categories into UA 12+ and UA 15+ to make the content accessible to the appropriate audience.The government has also said that they are keen on making changes in the archaic Cinematograph Act 1952.
We talk to filmmakers to know their views:
Acts should be revamped from time to time
Shyam Benegal, Director
As media grows over a period of time, there is a dire need to consider and reconsider the Act that regulates its content. There has been a media explosion in India in the past few years and the Cinematography Act 1952, which is over 60 years old, really requires some revamp. That is why certain amendments are called for. Not just for Cinematography Act but also other Acts should be taken up for consideration and their relevance and necessity should be checked upon. I have been awaiting a reply from the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry on whether they are considering the recommendations. They have promised a response and I hope they will at least consider it partially.
CBFC will follow the Ministry's suggestions
Anurag Srivastava, CEO, CBFC
Revision of Cinematography Act is being considered by the I&B Ministry and our views are yet-to-be asked. However, CBFC works under the ministry and we are here to implement the provisions in the Cinematography Act. When the changes are made we will definitely implement it. There is nothing personal about it.
Censoring should be unbiased
Ranjith, Director
Interestingly, the censor board has now started subtly following the recommendations suggested by the Shyam Bengal committee and I got a clean ‘A’ certificate for my latest film Puthan Panam. Now, CBFC is not insisting that we cut a specific scene. Instead it will just give us an ‘A’ rating and if we question them, they would ask us to remove a few scenes and later resend. In my film, there was a scene in which a school student gets a gun from the garbage and the story progresses from there. And when they asked for the removal of the scene, I said, let ‘A’ rating remain. But this really affected us financially as the multiplexes didn’t issue tickets for families. Now, to get a clean certificate to screen it on television, I need to blur the gun and send it for certification again. My question is, are they only worried about guns? What about the much hyped movie, Pulimurugan, in which a small kid with bows and arrows was trying to kill a tiger? Isn’t he promoting violence and also instilling thoughts in kids that tigers are to be killed? Unfortunately, we are still following the archaic Cinematography Act 1952 to censor the millennial films. It’s high time that we introduced changes.
Why censorship only for films?
Madhupal, Director
Acts can be amended or even abolished. My question is, when we have a lot of uncensored content available on the tap of a finger, why impose censorship only for films. Even our children are being exposed to a lot of stuff which is unfit to be seen by a child unless in the presence of their parents. It is true that cinema is a mass medium and the Cinematography Act was implemented considering it as a collective art and has an influence in the cultural orientation of our country. But now things are totally different and this is a topic which should be seriously considered and discussed. I question the necessity of a censor board just for films.
If Pulaya is not acceptable, how can Chovan be?
Rajeev Ravi, Director and Cinematographer
The issue is not just about the report submitted by the Shyam Benegal committee. What about the documentary on Amartya Sen which has been stalled by the Censor Board? CBFC has asked its filmmaker Suman Ghosh to mute words like 'cow', 'Gujarat' and ‘Hindutva' uttered by the Nobel Laureate in the film! Where are we heading to? In my film Kammattipaadam, they asked me to remove the word Pulaya citing religious sentiments. Then what about using Chovan Chekkan in the recent release, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum? The censor board only feels that using the word Pulaya is offensive, not Chovan, Nair or Namboothiri. Is Pulaya a word which is not even worth uttering? Is it what they meant by asking me to remove it from my film? They themselves have no clue about what should be removed and what shouldn’t be. What has happened to this world? Our basic fundamental rights are being curbed. We are moving towards a time where we will not be able even to move our fingers without certifications!