Samar of Discontent: Censors and Public Censure

From their prophets to their proselytising, the play is a damning, albeit hilarious indictment of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My sides still hurting from having laughed so much, I wondered whether an iconoclastic, long-running play such as this could have survived even a week had it dared to spoof Islam or even Hinduism. In extreme cases, protests can take a tragic turn as the Charlie Hebdo attack, in France, has shown.

In India, powerful fundamentalist groups and lobbies often protest and pressure the government into shutting down any production that hurts their religious sentiments.

Before leaving for London, I had watched Raju Hirani’s PK and was impressed by the filmmaker’s conviction in debunking blind faith. I wondered if the film would engender controversy and was disappointed, but not surprised to learn upon my return to India that cinema halls had been attacked, protestors had run amuck, and apparently, a ‘Computer Baba’ and other godmen had condemned PK, as had hordes of irate viewers on social media.

The fact that the government has refused to ban the film and is lending support to the producers by way of police protection is of some solace. Meanwhile, this contentious movie continues to break all box-office records, a datum both heartening and ironic. Another filmmaker facing inexplicable public censure is Kabir Khan, whose Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan has barely begun shooting and is already being accused of promoting ‘love jihad’.

I suspect that this controversy will only help and not hurt the film’s fate and the producers will eventually chortle all the way to the bank. But not all artists are so fortunate. In 2013, Muslim groups delayed the release of Kamal Hassan’s Vishwaroopam, despite it having censor clearance, until the beleaguered filmmaker agreed to mute certain scenes which they considered objectionable. Even box-office baadshah Shah Rukh Khan was coerced into shortening the title of his film Billu Barber, to placate beauty parlour associations that found the word ‘barber’ demeaning.

Increasingly, we witness “cultural terrorism” where individuals and organisations take umbrage at a creative work by claiming that it hurts their sentiments. Artists, writers and filmmakers find their voices stifled in the face of opposition that is often whimsical or has some vested interest. If you feel a film or a work of art will offend you, then it is your prerogative to simply ignore it rather than call for its ban. Naive and simplistic as this sounds, it is a healthier alternative than burning books and vandalising cinemas and art galleries.

Meanwhile, front-page ads in national newspapers alert viewers to the impending release of a film called MSG, starring Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in and as the eponymous Messenger of God. In my capacity as a film critic, I promise to watch it objectively and fervently pray that my sensibilities are not offended. As a society, we should be permitted to censure but not censor.

samarofdiscontent@gmail.com