The cutting edge

Iqbal is being stripped by the police and he indignantly tells them that his uncle is a big man and that they should not treat him like this. In response the policeman jests,“ And next you’ll tell me Mahatma Gandhi is your father-in-law.”

Would these scenes enrage you, hurt your feelings, offend your sensibilities? Does the word Musalmaan shock you? Probably not. But what you think doesn’t matter because it’s the Censor Board that decides for you.Take the case of Train To Pakistan, premiered by Star Plus on August 15. Director Pamela Rooks had asked for an adult certificate. “I read the book when I was 17 years old. I was not shocked. However, the language was risky, but it brought out the flavour of Punjab. And if you apply their `objectionable language’ theory to the film, only 20 minutes of it would have survived. In any case, we had asked for an A certificate,” Rooks explains, thinking that then everything would be okay.

Things, however, did not turn out as planned. “A week before the premiere, the Censor Board told us about their objections,” says Rooks.“We left the decision to Star Plus. Only two days before the cassette was to go to Hong Kong was I told that the censored version would be aired,” she adds. The fate of the film wasn’t entirely unexpected. (Remember Bandit Queen?) Considering the present stalemate on foreign media, Star Plus probably didn’t want to grab the limelight for the wrong reasons. Especially perhaps, on Independence Day. “They (the censors) objected to the reference to Gandhi, who had a better sense of humour. They even objected to two scenes where Jagga and Iqbal’s posterior’s are shown!” reveals Rooks with a shake of her head, “But it was an integral part of the film and I didn’t make it for below 12 or 15 age group. Moreover, Star is not bound to get a CBFC certificateyet it did. They massacred the film,” complains Rooks.Viewers may have agreed. Especially after receiving a breathless overdose of the `first-time-exclusive’ routine. Star TV went overboard with publicity of the film: there were interviews galore, behind-the-scenes and promos day and night. Then they air the censored version. As a result, most people including the author, Khushwant Singh, felt that something was missing. "I am going to the Tribunal so that people get to see the uncensored version in halls," vows Rooks.

Strange behaviour for a network which telecasts films with an 18 plus rating routinely. Strange behaviour for a network which shows films (after 11 pm) that are more porn than soft. Strange behaviour for a network that first runs a `hot, hot’ movie as an 18 plus at night and then gives it a 15 years rating in the day.

Though officials at Star Plus were not available for comment, Sameer Nair, Executive Producer, Star Movies, explained how they rate movies on the channel (and presumably these ratings apply to Star Plus as well). “All films shown on Star Movies follow an international standard of rating. This is done from Hong Kong,” he says. As for the adult movies that have different ratings at different times of the day, Nair said: “We follow Hong Kong regulations in this case. According to them, during child viewing hours, an 18 plus film cannot be shown, unless certain sequences are censored.” Which amounts to a lot of censoring. So, why didn’t the network give an 18 plus rating to Train To Pakistan and just run it in toto? Nobody at Star was available for explanation. Neither is anybody explaining why serials telecast on satellite channels are allowed to show just about anything and everything under the sun, while there are strict no-nos for films. Jagga boasting about his sexual exploits to Iqbal is “provocative”, but Savi flaunting an extra-marital affair with her boss in Hasratein is cool. Shouldn’t TV have some standard guidelines?