The Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC), more commonly referred to as the Censor Board, is not known for its progressive views or ability to evolve with the times. While it is often lenient with some frankly prurient content, it is strangely prudish as well; particularly with content that bucks the trend as in the case of the objections it took in the case of Lipstick Under My Burqa. The Censor Board frequently displays a patently regressive mindset, at times the directives issued come across as just plain bizarre.
The upcoming Madhur Bhandarkar film Indu Sarkar has run into trouble with the censor board. As many as 14 cuts are recommended. Bizarrely, even some of the lines that were in the trailer have been asked to be deleted.
Lines such as these are asked to be deleted: 'Ab iss desh mein Gandhi ke maayne badal chuke hai', 'Bharat ki ek beti ne desh ko bandi banaya hua hai' and 'Aur tum log jindagibhar Maa- Bete ki gulaami karte rahoge'. Bizarrely, words such as Akaali, RSS, PM, IB, Jayprakash Narayan and Communist are asked to be beeped. Most bizarrely, a newspaper cutting is asked to be removed and “Kishore Kumar” is also asked to be cut out!
Terming the cuts as ‘unfair’, the filmmaker thanked those who had come out in his support. He said that this gave him the courage to make more honest films. Madhur Bhandarkar has said that he will be appealing to the revising committee.
Nobel Laureate and arguably one of the finest minds of his generation, Amartya Sen as also come under the CBFS scanner. A documentary called The Argumentative Indian (also the name of one of his most celebrated books) has also come in for some snipping by the censor.
The Censor Board has objected to the words “Gujarat”, “cow”, “Hindu India” and “Hindutva view of India”, which are spoken by Sen in the hour long documentary. Due for screening on Friday, 14th July, the release is now stalled.
Refusing to make a single cut, Ghosh said that he would follow the process and pursue all options available to him. In a TV interview he indicated that he did not rule out an online release over which the censor board had no control.
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]
