Now, helmet mandatory in films as well!

Till now, it was only smoking and drinking scenes that needed a statutory warning in films. But now, actors riding two-wheelers without helmet or driving cars without wearing the seat belt will land in trouble.
The Kerala Transport and Road Safety Commissioner Rishiraj Singh has written to the Malayalam film organisations and the Film Certification Board to make helmet and seat belt mandatory on screen.While the film fraternity applauds the positive intentions behind the ruling, they have their own apprehensions too.
Actor Babu Antony supports the ruling and says that films indeed have a great influence on people. “Movies might be a source of entertainment and creative expression, but the societal obligation cannot be disregarded. If a sequence does not absolutely demand absence of a helmet, why do without it?” he asks. However, the actor is quick to add that, “If there is the requirement of a scene sans helmet, I believe special permissions can be availed of citing the reasons for the requirement.”
Actress Pearle Maaney says for her next film, Last Supper, there is a sequence where she had to ride a scooter, and she insisted on wearing a helmet. “Though I had my makeup on, I asked for a helmet. I believe that this ruling can go a long way in creating awareness among people. While a major chunk of the film viewers can distinguish between reality and fiction, there are people who cannot make the distinction in a mature way. The ruling can help that section of the population,” she says.
However, actor Narain has a different opinion altogether. “I am not against the ruling. But cinema is an art form and I feel tampering with its creative freedom will do no good. We are living in an era when intimate scenes in a film will get slapped with an A certificate and limit audience, while there are similar or even worse clips freely available for anyone online. I believe that our audience are sensible enough to not get highly influenced by what is shown in films,” he says.
Director Aneesh Anwar too feels that the ruling has its own set of boons but can affect the creativity to a good extent. “For instance, we often have scenes in our films where the hero chases the villain or vice versa, adding a sense of thrill to the film. The cinematic impact of such sequences can be fully captured only when the faces of the actors — expressing emotions related to the scene — can be shown,” says Aneesh adding that, “We already have many rulings on movie scenes, intended to bring in awareness. Curtailing creative freedom can limit the scope of our filmmaking too.”