A  BJP MP's uttering that there has been no conclusive proof linking tobacco with cancer is so curious that it won't have takers within the party itself.

For instance, when Dr Harsh Vardhan was state minister of health way back in the 1990s, he had been driven by two pet passions: a polio eradication campaign and an anti-tobacco programme. For the anti-tobacco campaign, he had roped in the notorious villain of the 1970s who blew smoke rings on the Hindi screen and inspired many movie watchers to pick up the cancer stick. There is nothing more passionate than a recent convert, and Shatrughan Sinha proved it when he gave up smoking and began to campaign vigorously against it. In his first round as MP, he even spoke in the Rajya Sabha against it, quoting statistics and details. A lot of that information was given to him by his friend, Dr Harsh Vardhan.

It was this medical doctor who got smoking banned in public places. So one wonders what his and Sinha's unedited reaction to this government's findings will be. Surely, bowing down to the powerful tobacco lobby couldn't be on Dr Harsh Vardhan's agenda.

While the government goes soft on that front, the censor board continues to insist that filmmakers flash the "Smoking kills" warning every time an actor is shown smoking on the screen. This rule (which was initiated way before Pahlaj Nihalani's reign) is the bête noire of many filmmakers. Anurag Kashyap had lost the battle against it when he had to release Ugly with the warning in the midst of several scenes.

Madhur Bhandarkar is another filmmaker who hates that warning cropping up during a scene. He had fought against it when Heroine was released, arguing that the ruling came after he had started shooting his film. Therefore, when he filmed the smoking scenes, the ruling was not in existence. The censor board had relented by asking him to make up for it with a message from Kareena Kapoor, his leading lady. So Madhur got away without the "Smoking kills" warning disturbing his scenes and compensated it by getting Kareena to record an anti-smoking message which was shown before the film.

You won't believe what Madhur has done this time in his new film Calendar Girls , which by its very name will feature fashion models and starlets in daring clothing and even more eye-popping lifestyle. To avoid the "Smoking kills" line flashing across any of his scenes, Madhur has shot his entire film assiduously avoiding any visuals of his actors smoking. So there will be no Pahlaj vs Madhur argument over smoking at least.

Lastly, dear Vidhu Vinod Chopra, it's time to make good the promise you made to Dibakar Banerjee in public at the book release of the screenplays of Guru Dutt's classics like Kagaz Ke Phool . Instead of speeches, the launch had featured a smart discussion on Guru Dutt's films and Hindi cinema with Farhan Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap and Vidhu Vinod Chopra as the panelists.

At one stage, to illustrate that commercial gains should not dictate filmmaking, Vinod Chopra had turned around and told Dibakar, "I found the promo of your film (Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! ) extremely interesting. I promise you right here, if your film turns out to be as good as your promo, whether your film runs or not, come to me and I'll make a film with you. I have lots of money."

With the release of Detective Byomkesh two days ago, Dibakar may put Vidhu to the test, especially since the film has little commercial value. On the other hand, Dibakar has become such a staunch Aditiya Chopra loyalist that it's said scripts that are submitted to Yash Raj Films are first vetted by Banerjee. So if you're in Dibakar's good books, the chances of Adi looking at your work are higher. In this cosy scenario, perhaps the Byomkesh maker won't have to go looking for a producer to back him. Exhale, Vinod.

PS: Here's proof of Dibakar's privileged position at YRF. The banner has a policy of never having a screening before the release of any of their films and press shows are always held at the YRF preview theatre only on Friday morning. For the first time in over a decade, we were invited to a special screening of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! at the studio on Thursday evening. Times are changing even at YRF, and this is a welcome one.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author