Abolish the film censors

 

Always problematic, Film Certification Board has recently been going berserk

Alok Tiwari

 

The role of film censors in India has always been contentious. Lately it has become more so as the euphemistically named Central Board for Film Certification has shown remarkable overreach that is breathtaking even by its own low standards. It has stopped director Honey Trehan’s Punjab ’95 for over two and half years demanding nearly 120 cuts. The movie is based on life of a real-life Sikh activist who investigated the cases of alleged abductions and killing of civilians by the Punjab police at the height of militancy in Punjab.

The activist Jaswant Singh Khalra himself disappeared in similar manner. His case is well documented with several Punjab policemen convicted for his abduction and murder. The convictions were upheld even by the Supreme Court. One of the changes that the censors have demanded in the film is that the Punjab police not be called Punjab police! The changes, if implemented, will render the movie meaningless.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has always made a big fuss about 1984 massacre of Sikhs by Congress goons. Yet, the CBFC, full of its own acolytes, wants to water down a much worse atrocity on the Sikh community. It is a measure of depth to which we have fallen as a democracy if even a true story cannot be told.

In another case, the CBFC is objecting to the name of the protagonist in Malayalam movie JSK: Janaki vs State of Kerala on the specious ground that it is one of the names of Hindu Goddess Sita. The story pertains to a rape victim fighting for justice. Producers have approached the Kerala High Court which incredulously asked if the CBFC will now dictate even the names of the movies. It also observed that the character is not a villain, instead a heroic woman seeking justice.

I would argue there should not be a problem even if a negative character has name of some God of any religion. In India, particularly, there are crores of divine characters with some having more than a thousand different names. Indians are fond of naming their children after mythological characters. If such injunctions are observed, it will be impossible to narrate any story having any semblance of reality.

The third case is of latest Aamir Khan-starrer Sitare Zameen Par which is about a bunch of special kids. The CBFC insisted that the movie carry a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi about inclusiveness of specially abled persons. This would almost be funny if it were not so serious. Though the producers obliged (what choice did they have?), it marks a new low for the Board. So far it only called for cuts and changes. Now it has begun inserting extraneous elements into movies, that too in such a blatant and crude manner.

If this has been done without the knowledge of PM Modi, then he should have been the first to object. It places him with narcissistic megalomaniacs like N Korea’s Kim Jong Un. But this is only expected when we have Modi’s image staring at us everywhere from Covid vaccination certificates to petrol stations to ration bags. Obviously, the CBFC diktat has his blessings.

Movie censors have always had a problematic history in the country. While they have done nothing to raise the standards of Indian cinema, their actions have been responsible in large part for keeping it mediocre. Throughout the Board’s existence, it has targeted meaningful, sensitive movies while allowing crassest of them to be exhibited unhindered. In recent years, its role has been more sinister. It has become an extension of and a proxy for the mobs that dictate the popular culture in the country. Anything that goes against their thin-skinned sensitivities and majoritarian narratives is stopped. On the other hand, propagandist films that blatantly distort history, seek to foster communal hatred, and eulogise false gods are allowed.

It is ironic that this should be happening when the government is leaving no stone unturned in reminding people about excesses of Emergency. To denounce that phase of Indian history while doing everything to curb the civil liberties of people in almost similar or even much worse manner is a contradiction not lost on Indian people. More so when such efforts are counterproductive, now more than ever.

As a libertarian, I would argue that censors are an anachronism in the age of internet. All a filmmaker needs to do to bypass them is release the movie online. Even if government acquires power to control social media platforms, there are ways to make sure the content reaches everyone who wants it. This is also true for content objected to on the grounds of decency and morality. It just is not effective anymore when even hardcore pornography is freely accessible. If we are to be a true democracy, then the censor board should be abolished. At the very least, its role should be limited to just certifying, with no powers to withhold release of any movie.

I have no problems with crude propagandist movies that the ruling dispensation likes but the counter narratives should also be allowed to be made and distributed freely. A handful of people, particularly those chosen by the government of the day, cannot decide what a nation of 140 crore plus can watch or not watch. Heavens will not fall if people get to see movies on controversial issues and stories that challenge their beliefs. If we believe our people are wise enough to elect our own government then they are wise enough to decide what is good for them to watch or read.

Authorities in India are too eager to throw citizens’ rights under the bus. Instead, they should control the mobs that threaten the release of anything they deem unacceptable. They should enforce law and order and protect rights of citizens, not the sensitivities of organized thugs.