‘It is not the board’s job to control quality of films’

Vidya Prabhu:How often do you feel pressure from filmmakers who want a ‘U’ rating without cuts?

It happens all the time. Some filmmakers do not accept cuts. But when they want to sell the film for television viewing,they plead for a ‘U’ rating. A schizophrenic attitude is prevalent in the industry; they need to make up their mind and stand for their films.

Shubhangi Khapre:Given the diverse culture in India,each group tries to push its own agenda — be it religious,social or political. Is there a need for guidelines,if not censorship?

We are very proud of our diversity. But at the same time,if we feel that someone is deliberately putting a community down and it has nothing to do with the story,we take a decision. In the film Aarakshan,there is a debate between characters representing upper and lower castes. One person says,“Tum to hamare ladkiyon ki doli uthane ke hi layak ho,hamare barabar nahi baith sakte”. Another character responds: “That’s why we need reservation”.

Smita Nair:Where do you draw the line? How do you decide a kiss is allowed or not?

If a film is rated ‘A’,we do not touch it. We are careful if we have to certify something for children. I particularly don’t like the ‘U/A’ rating because it’s basically ‘U’,but we’re telling viewers the movie requires parental guidance. In India,there is no concept of parental guidance.

Manasi Phadke:There is a suggestion to lower the qualifying age of adults from 18 to 16.

We’re comfortable with 18,because that is the voting age. If you are mature enough to chose your government,you’re mature enough to deal with anything that appears in a movie.

Mayura Janwalkar:How many members review a film? How are the members chosen?

There are nine centres. Mumbai has around 150 people who are from different walks of life — housewives,doctors. We have their names and numbers; they are appointed by the government. When a film comes to us,we choose members randomly. For a movie like Son of Sardar,we made sure there is representation from the Sikh community.

Mayura Janwalkar:How often do you have disagreement between members on films?

If there is no consensus,the decision is left to another committee. We recommend the film be viewed by a larger committee. Normally,five people — 4 members and a government officer — watch a movie. There has to be 50 per cent representation of women for every film. When they don’t agree,it goes to another committee with 7-8 people. Then it goes to seniors on the board,who hail from the fields of art and cinema. If there’s no consensus here,you can take your film to Film Certification Appellate Tribunal. Rajneeti was cleared at that level.

Manasi Phadke:Do political parties put pressure on you?

No,they are very smart. Direct political interference in CBFC is nil and I have not got a call from anyone so far.

Sharvari Patwa:What happens if the committee with 50 per cent women doesn’t approve of an item song and they go to a higher committee?

Recently,the board said it feels item songs should be categorised ‘A’. They are not getting banned,but at least we can rate them ‘A’ so they don’t play them in school buses or at award ceremonies.

P Vaidyanathan Iyer:In the ‘90s,you saw Shakti Kapoor,Kader Khan and Dada Kondke indulge in double meanings. Was the censor board more liberal then?

No,there are people who still make those kind of films. Double Dhamaal had only double meanings,but it got a ‘U/A’ rating.

Sharvari Patwa:Have you ever thought of taking suggestions from children?

We have not included children so far,we usually ask parents what movies their children want to see. But we should call children and ask them,“What do you want to watch?”

Shubhangi Khapre:In the name of freedom and bold cinema,do you think there’s degeneration of lyrics and dialogue writing?

It’s not for us to control the quality. We are not here to pass moral or qualitative judgment. We are allowing all kinds of films to flourish. Everybody should get to watch their kind of film. That should be the ideal world with people having the freedom to make and watch any kind of film. There was a film festival where a filmmaker said,“If I decide to make a film on Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi’s love story,the censor board will not clear it.”

I told him,“I don’t know what will happen to you after you’ve made the film,but the board will definitely not come in the way.”

Mayura Janwalkar:Has the board become more open in its approach?

The board has become more open but some things are not about sentiments,they are about the law of the land. In the A-rated film ‘I Am’,there was a fairly long kiss between two men and some touching and fondling. Some members felt it was against their religion to allow such a thing,but there was a discussion that if a man and woman’s kiss can be shown in A-rated films,why not between two women or two men? The board took a bold decision to allow that kiss in ‘I Am’. It was a risk that we took,but it paid off because no one complained.

Smita Nair:You recently screened several scenes that were censored in films made over the years. What was the idea?

We showed that in Delhi to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema. We will show it in Mumbai too — it was a huge hit.

Sagnik Chowdhury:Do you have any say with regards to stereotyping in cinema? Also,will the board look at rape or gangrape scenes in a new light in the future,after Delhi gangrape?

We can’t change stereotyping in cinema. But we try to control gender stereotyping. The board was sensitive even before the gangrape. There was an award-winning film,Allah ke Bande,where two underaged kids get sexually abused by the warden. The scene went on for a minute,we cut it to 20 seconds,because the reality is that people get titillated.

Sankhayan Ghosh:How open are you to passing parodies of public figures or political figures?

In Bengal,it happens often — most of the Bengali films are parodies. Having said that,we are very careful about contempt of court. Like when a particular chief justice was in office,there was a film that had a character say,“Woh saala toh paise leke hi case clear karta hai.” We asked the filmmaker if he could change the name of the judge because the person being referred to was holding office then.

Sankhayan Ghosh:Can you give us one instance where a filmmaker fought till the end and got away with a particular scene?

Yes,that happened with Bandit Queen. The filmmakers went to Supreme Court to get nod for the scene where Phoolan Devi walks in the nude.

(Transcribed by Vidya Prabhu,Zaira Arslan,Sankhayan Ghosh and Amruta Lakhe)