In a Sunday that brought a bouquet of films from different eras, the romance with cinema continued with flair at Siri Fort. The auditorium brimmed with energy for a workshop and panel discussion on We: the offended. The crux of the debate was to discuss the allegations, ranging from gender bias to stereotyping sects, posed at films from different fronts, pre and post release. As often is the case with these panel discussions, the auditorium seemed to be living the back-story of the cinema. There’s a lot more to what one sees on the silver screen: cuts, provocations, allegations, bans et al. The moot point for the day was offence.
Moderating the discussion, the Chief executive officer of CBFC Pankaja Thakur welcomed the panelists, directors- Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ketan Mehta, Luv Ranjan, Rajendra Singh Babu, legal expert Amit Nayak and professor of Cinema studies at JNU, Ira Bhaskar.
The afternoon session opened with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s story of Dilli 6. How it got embroiled with the SC ST commission over the portrayal of a waste picker. As the discussion picked up, it was noted that films get stuck before release due to a lot more reasons than censor board’s obstructions. With a country of over a billion, it’s difficult to appease everyone, it seems. Mehra shared the quagmire Rang de Basanti found itself in, when the ministries found it uncomfortable to portray the crash of MiG 21. The audience was in splits listening to his ‘moment of shake’, when he said, ‘My legs were shaking when I screened it to ministers and chiefs of forces in Delhi, not because I was concerned about the ban on the film. But who gets a chance to screen one’s movie to a gathering of that sort.’ Mehra was later honored at the 75 years of celebration of air force for his efforts. He confesses that one cannot cross the line under the garb of creativity. That was a one-off remark coming from a director of his stature. In the wake of restraining orders on movies like Vishwaroopam and the likes, from the legal front, Amit Nayak talked of constitutional provisions that do not allow pre censorship of a film before its exhibition after once it is certified by the censor board.
Though the discussion didn’t allow for a fair share of interaction with the audience, in the last few minutes, questions were pointed towards lack of representation of SC/ST commission, animal welfare boards or any such bodies on the panel that block the passage of films post certification. We also felt that their take could add another layer to the panel discussion. Luv Ranjan the director of Pyar ka Panchama gauged the sentiments and appropriately summed up that everything is bound to offend somebody or the other. The trouble accentuates when you do not want to discus the problem. For that one sentiment, at a small level, the panel discussions at Siri Fort are allowing for a responsible exchange of ideas on things unsaid and unheard about the movies.
While filmmakers rued the role certain factions play in threatening and harassing their creativity; they also lauded the role of censor board that has moved on from being an autocratic censor board to a certifying authority, open to dialogue. The last question for the evening popped up a relevant take on Indian cinema while it celebrates its 100 years with a huge fanfare: When would Indian cinema go beyond its national issues to reflect upon a global theme? With an off the cuff, ‘Why not!’ Mehra wrapped up the discussion. Perhaps, the answer lies in the films that will probably be prompted by such discussions.
Moderating the discussion, the Chief executive officer of CBFC Pankaja Thakur welcomed the panelists, directors- Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ketan Mehta, Luv Ranjan, Rajendra Singh Babu, legal expert Amit Nayak and professor of Cinema studies at JNU, Ira Bhaskar.
The afternoon session opened with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s story of Dilli 6. How it got embroiled with the SC ST commission over the portrayal of a waste picker. As the discussion picked up, it was noted that films get stuck before release due to a lot more reasons than censor board’s obstructions. With a country of over a billion, it’s difficult to appease everyone, it seems. Mehra shared the quagmire Rang de Basanti found itself in, when the ministries found it uncomfortable to portray the crash of MiG 21. The audience was in splits listening to his ‘moment of shake’, when he said, ‘My legs were shaking when I screened it to ministers and chiefs of forces in Delhi, not because I was concerned about the ban on the film. But who gets a chance to screen one’s movie to a gathering of that sort.’ Mehra was later honored at the 75 years of celebration of air force for his efforts. He confesses that one cannot cross the line under the garb of creativity. That was a one-off remark coming from a director of his stature. In the wake of restraining orders on movies like Vishwaroopam and the likes, from the legal front, Amit Nayak talked of constitutional provisions that do not allow pre censorship of a film before its exhibition after once it is certified by the censor board.
Though the discussion didn’t allow for a fair share of interaction with the audience, in the last few minutes, questions were pointed towards lack of representation of SC/ST commission, animal welfare boards or any such bodies on the panel that block the passage of films post certification. We also felt that their take could add another layer to the panel discussion. Luv Ranjan the director of Pyar ka Panchama gauged the sentiments and appropriately summed up that everything is bound to offend somebody or the other. The trouble accentuates when you do not want to discus the problem. For that one sentiment, at a small level, the panel discussions at Siri Fort are allowing for a responsible exchange of ideas on things unsaid and unheard about the movies.
While filmmakers rued the role certain factions play in threatening and harassing their creativity; they also lauded the role of censor board that has moved on from being an autocratic censor board to a certifying authority, open to dialogue. The last question for the evening popped up a relevant take on Indian cinema while it celebrates its 100 years with a huge fanfare: When would Indian cinema go beyond its national issues to reflect upon a global theme? With an off the cuff, ‘Why not!’ Mehra wrapped up the discussion. Perhaps, the answer lies in the films that will probably be prompted by such discussions.