MUMBAI, April 9: While State Minister Pramod Navalkar wonders at the breast-beating over the censoring of rock lyrics, claiming the committee's guidelines are not new, it appears the directive to smother anything that offends the sensibilities is indeed a recent diktat.Though the Marathi film personality and chairperson of the Stage Performance Scrutiny Board, Shantaram Nandgaonkar, is not particularly interested in rock 'n' roll, he says he was only recently instructed to make sure that every rock lyric is squeaky-clean."I do enjoy all kinds of music but I am not very interested or passionate about rock. Since I have now been instructed by Navalkar to strictly censor vulgarity in rock music, it will be our endeavour to do so," he told Express Newsline today.Nandgaonkar, who has been at the committee's helm since the last two years, says the 17-member board will jointly screen and censor rock lyrics, along with other Hindi, Marathi and English musical shows and plays. The detailed censorguidelines, however, will be prepared only next week."All offensive words like the `F's and `B's in the songs will be cancelled as the minister (Navalkar) has been receiving several complaints about vulgarity creeping into such shows," he explains.Asked why the state found it necessary to screen these songs when they have already been cleared by international music companies and censor boards, Nandgaonkar reasons: "Our Marathi culture is different; you can make clean jokes during a stage performance without using offensive language. And I understand that several rock songs have a lot of vulgar and violent lyrics."While Minister for Cultural Affairs, Pramod Navalkar, insists that there is nothing new about the scripts committee formed in 1974 and whose jurisdiction includes scrutinising song lyrics and scripts of skits, plays and musical shows, the organisers of Independence Rock have categorically stated that they never had to submit their lyrics before a performance in the past."We have beenholding `Independence Rock' at Rang Bhavan for 13 years and never before have we tabled the lyrics before the Stage Performance Scrutiny Board under Navalkar. If there is a law like this, it was never enforced in the past," says AMP Entertainment's Rohinton Poonawala, a partner of Farhad Wadia.He says even for "Rock Yatra" which was held at Rang Bhavan last Sunday, the organisers had to run from pillar to post for weeks before the show. "For holding a rock show at Rang Bhavan we only have to pay Rs 1,000 to the state. However, if we were to hold the same event at a private ground like the Brabourne Stadium we would have to shell out over Rs 1 lakh and that becomes unaffordable," Rohinton explains.This avid rocker also wonders how the scrutiny board will find the time and energy to go through the scripts and lyrics of all the musical shows and plays with a fine-tooth comb as the city hosts practically one major stage performance every day."When you can pass choli ke peeche and sarkay lokhatiya, why this discrimination against rock music?" Rohinton asks.Though Navalkar was not available for comment today, an official from the Department of Cultural Affairs remarked: "Even the classic Pink Floyd rock number We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control. Lots of hassles in the classroom, teacher leave those kids alone was banned in several European countries, including France, as it discourages children from attending school. Why can't we do the same in Maharashtra!"
