Cinema and Censor Board: Those damn "cuss" words!

Uneasy lies the head that bears the film censors hat.

I agree with Manish Tewari, the former information and broadcasting minister, that the whole concept of censorship seems terribly outdated. But then, it begs the question, why did he not change the system either?

In any case, in these days of free-flowing internet, where all kinds of material is uploaded, coupled, usually with highly colourful abuse, I don't have to watch movies to get my daily dose of choice epithets. Often, just opening my Facebook page or even going to my Twitter account is enough! And then if trolls get hold of you, you will read language that might make the new censor board chief faint on the spot.

For a long time I have maintained that it is not the abuse, but the misogynistic stories, as well as the on-screen violence, that our film directors indulge in, which should be regulated, or even monitored. Cinema is a visual medium, and the language used is not just verbal, but physical as well. The entire space on the screen communicates a certain message. Observe the way the hero swaggers, the disrespect he might display if he is powerful. Look at the way, "fights" take place between him and the baddie: the bone crunching detail, the sound effects. It almost would make us believe that once a villain or baddie is clobbered by the hero he becomes a non-person. How often have found, in fact, that as the hero swings a man over his head, headbutts him or knocks him flat onto the ground, the latter just simply disappears... Off the screen, vanishes into oblivion, never to be hear of again. As though he, because of his malign faults, is unworthy, and only the "worthy" hero should be allowed to live and breathe. This is also abuse.

And then, the censor board chief might turn his attention to the way the heroines are depicted with their, usually, dumb and dumber roles, and the "item numbers" they perform. Does it take "cuss" words to create a degenerate society or does it take this kind of misogyny? When women have been displayed as incidental or marginal to the main plot, how does it matter whether you verbally abuse them? You have already sent out a message that women are ready for any form of exploitation. After all, if highly paid, powerful heroines accept less than respectful, highly meaningless roles, it can only be that women will succumb to power and money! Verbal abuse pales in comparison!

It has been discussed for a long time that the censor board needs overhauling and we need to categorise our movies the way they are done abroad, perhaps with a clear demarcation of what young children should see, along with what is to be seen with parental guidance. And we should move towards that system, rather than blanket censorship, based selectively on the likes and dislikes of the censors. The sooner we get rational about our movies, the better... But the idea of censorship needs a long overdue rethink.