Cinema, censored

For months viewers have been watching the promos of Sanjay Leela Bhansalirsquos magnum opus Ramleela on their television screens But on November 15 2013 when the film released in theatres they were surprised to find the film starting with the title Goliyon Ki Rasleela RamLeela No it wasnrsquot a lastminute change thought of by Bhansali or by his wellwishers After an objection raised against the title of the film by a couple of organisations the makers of the film were forced to change the title Ramleela courted controversy with its title which had to be changed to Goliyon Ki Rasleela RamLeela before release Deja vu Well it seems so considering the number of objections and problems that have been raised by various fringe groups religious or political in the past few years So while the Barber at the end of Billu Barber had to be trimmed off as the Salon and Beauty Parlour associations found the word lsquoderogatoryrsquo Ajay Devgn had to remove some lsquoobjectionable contentrsquo from his film Son of Sardar after a few Sikh organisations raised issues Madhuri Dixitrsquos comeback film Aaja Nachle courted controversy with its title track that contained the word lsquoMochirsquo cobbler Dalit organisations managed to ban the film in many states before the producers finally removed the word from the song Singh Saheb The Great faced trouble on many fronts including its title Aaj ka gundaraj Not really considering art has been the punching bag for many since times immemorial Right from MF Husainrsquos paintings to writer Salman Rushdiersquos Midnightrsquos Children to Ismat Chughtairsquos writings history has proof that artistic expressions that have been banned have gone on to become classics ldquoSadat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chughtai who were tried in court for obscenity in those times are part of literature and taught in schools todayrdquo says film writer Shibani Bathija Shootout at Wadala was banned in its opening weekend in Punjab as a certain group took offence to a dialogue in the film ldquoHistory teaches us that these sort of objections are plain harassment and therefore unlawful As a country we should not tolerate itrdquo Two years ago when Prakash Jharsquos film Aarakshan based on the reservation issue was about to be released Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati said the filmrsquos screening could create law and order issues in the state But the Supreme Court rejected the plea saying that no state can ban a film that has been cleared by the Censor Board of Film Certification CBFC While that might be true that hasnrsquot deterred fringe groups from finding something to get offended at My Name is Khan saw packed theatres even after there were demands for banning the film A film is everyonersquos property Everyone knows how big a hit Sanjay Guptarsquos Shootout at Wadala was The film released early this year had a starcast comprising John Abraham Anil Kapoor Sonu Sood among others But what a lot of people donrsquot know was that the film was banned in Punjab in its opening weekend The reason ldquoThere is a dialogue in the film where John is studying when a cop arrests himrdquo Gupta tells us ldquoThe line that the cop delivers was lsquoHar chor Valmiki nahin bantarsquo Every thief doesnrsquot become a Valmiki But I was not aware that there was an organisation in North India called Valmiki Samaj that found this line offensive Madras Cafe was banned in Tamil Nadu after some political parties felt the film showed Tamilians in bad light My film was banned in its opening weekend in Punjab and it was back in theatres on Monday once I had removed the linerdquo Any filmmaker would tell you that losing the opening weekend in any state practically kills the business of the film But Gupta says they had no option but to abide by the organisationrsquos demand ldquoThe sad part is we donrsquot get any political support or police support when such a thing happens If a group says wersquore going the ransack the theatre and remove the film you donrsquot get 500 policemen deployed outside the theatre Film banate hum hain sabko lagta hai unke baap ka maal hai We make the film but everyone thinks itrsquos their fatherrsquos propertyrdquo In the past filmmakers have often bowed down to the wishes of religious organisations in order to not lsquohurt their religious sentimentsrsquo Son of Sardar Vishwaroopam Kya Sooper Kool Hain Hum and even the Hollywood film Da Vinci Code are some examples of films that faced the ire of religious groups the most recent being the Sunny Deolstarrer Singh Saheb The Great The Punjabi Cultural Heritage Board has raised several issues with the film one of them objecting to the title of the film But director Anil Sharma believes that filmmakers are the last people who will intentionally hurt anyonersquos sentiments ldquoWe wonrsquot do that because our business depends on satisfying your sentiments and emotions If we hurt peoplersquos sentiments wersquore hurting our own businessrdquo he states And while on religion Bathija presents us with another interesting view ldquoAll our religions have lasted for over thousands of years How can something as fundamental as religion get shaken up by a film It makes no senserdquo The writer of films such as My Name is Khan and Fanaa believes that these sort of objections take place in all spheres of art but with films there is more payoff in terms of the mileage the offended party gets out of it ldquoIf nobody gave a s then why would they do it It wouldnrsquot matter thenrdquo she adds Political pressures too have at times led to banning of the film in some states Aamir Khanrsquos antiNarmada stance led to Fanaa being banned in Gujarat while Shah Rukh Khanrsquos My Name is Khan almost met the same fate in Maharashtra after he made some comments about the Pakistani cricket team not being part of the Indian Premier League And while John Abrahamstarrer Madras Cafe received rave reviews across the country the political espionage thriller was banned in Tamil Nadu by political parties citing that it depicts the members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam LTTE as terrorists Director Shoojit Sircar strongly believes that such kind of objections should not be entertained ldquoThere is not just a lot of money involved but a lot of hard work too that goes into the making of a film You cannot hold back film lovers with sheer force If some groups have a problem they can approach the courtsrdquo he says Changing guidelines And while issues like religious sentiments vulgarity violence and others are subjective matters some sections of the industry believe that certain guidelines need to be in place for proper enforcement of laws Bathija feels the guidelines of CBFC are too ambiguous and need to be amended ldquoStopping the release of the film is not the answer Thatrsquos why we need guidelines If a film is following guidelines it needs to be played regardless of what you I or any third party thinksrdquo she says adding that there should be a standard set of guidelines thereby negating the possibility of anybody standing up and objecting to it ldquoItrsquos not a question of whorsquos right or wrong but if a film has gone through the due process then nobody has the right to objectrdquo opines Bathija Charan Singh Sapra President of Punjabi Cultural Heritage Board who has raised objections to Singh Saheb The Great believes that there is a technical issue at fault at the CBFC ldquoThey have a six member committee where even if five members okay the film and the sixth man doesnrsquot then it gets cleared The pattern followed by them is wrong I am writing to the ministry that if there is a film made on a certain religion then half of the viewing committee should be of that religionrdquo he says Sapra doesnrsquot believe that they are doing anything wrong by asking for changes in films ldquoProduction houses should also realise that they might be hurting somebodyrsquos religious sentiments If we are pointing out the mistake then they should be open to suggestions They should have no problem rectifying unintentional mistakesrdquo he adds A collective step Needless to say finding a solution to such issues is foremost on filmmakersrsquo minds And so it should be says media person and filmmaker Pritish Nandy ldquoFilmmakers need to come together and find a solution because if they donrsquot this could become a menace which it has to a great extentrdquo he says According to Nandy there is no basis for these fringe groups to act upon other than to exploit a commercial opportunity ldquoThe laws of the country state that after the censor board has cleared a film nobody can interfere with its screening Still individuals or groups indulge in this behaviourrdquo he says A positive step in this direction seems to have been taken with the stage being all set for the amendment of the Cinematograph Act 1952 Among the several issues that have come up for recommendation arbitrary ban on films is one And it is a welcome move indeed Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is of the opinion that once the Act is amended filmmakers will be able to breathe in peace ldquoWhen the Cinematograph Act which has been worked upon in great deal comes into operation the kind of problems we are being confronted with every second release will become a thing of the pastrdquo he says Explaining its functioning in greater detail Bhatt says that once the amended Act comes into operation any complaint that an organisation or individual has with a film will be addressed by a tribunal ldquoOnce they have looked at it the tribunal will take a decision keeping in mind the larger wellbeing of the nation and society Itrsquos very important that this country is run by law and not by the whims and fancies of a handful of peoplerdquo adds Bhatt ldquoItrsquos now very common to hear people say lsquoIrsquom rather offended by thatrsquo As if that gives them certain rights Itrsquos actually nothing more than a whine lsquoI find that offensiversquo It has no meaning it has no purpose it has no reason to be respected as a phrase lsquoI am offended by thatrsquo Well so fing whatrsquo When actor and writer Stephen Fry famously said those words he probably wasnrsquot thinking of this scenario We think he came close enoughu00a0