PRAKASH JHA

(Has directed Mrityudand, Gangaajal, Apaharan, Raajneeti...)

Besides the ban on certain words, the circular issued by the censor board also says that no Indian male will look at an Indian female, they won’t hold hands, they won’t smile and he can’t breathe into her ear! These are part of our expressions and the censor board has always been sensitive to these. Till now, they have always seen the context and allowed things. But then, you don’t start dictating or guiding or championing in the name of culture or Indianness because you don’t even know what India is all about. These are unnecessary restrictions, bans and moral policing. People are intelligent enough to understand. It is the context and the story that matters. The point is that they are overreacting and becoming over-enthusiastic, which is sad. I personally have never been in favour of the censor board, but since there is one, let it understand that when you have freedom, you obviously have freedom to express. I have faced intolerance in every film of mine, be it political or personal. 

PARAMBRATA CHATTOPADHYAY 

(Had to bleep out some cuss words in Lorai)

It is becoming impossible to make films. I am one of those who feel that in a country like India, censorship cannot be removed totally… because our country is so diverse with so many different kinds of people, so many religious beliefs and so many languages. Which film may offend whom is very difficult to understand in a country like India. But now where things are going, it seems that all that filmmakers would be left with are mythological subjects! Even to do a film which protests against violence against women, I have to show the violence, right? Otherwise how do I make the film? I have suffered enormously because of animal rights and censor board guidelines. The funniest part is you can’t show live animals, but you can show someone biting into Chicken Tandoori! The language that has been barred is the normal spoken language of many regions in India. So one cannot really make a film on those regions? The way we talk with friends cannot be  shown in our films? 

HOMI ADAJANIA

(Has directed Being Cyrus, Cocktail and Finding Fanny)

At the risk of sounding like a broken f***ing record, I feel it’s imperative for the censor board to introduce more categories of censorship. These should be clearly defined so that the audience can make an informed decision on whether he or she chooses to watch the material. Banning something is regressive, undemocratic and insulting to the audience’s intelligence. The final decision on the type of content to consume has to belong to the viewer and not to a bunch of people who are given the power to decide on their behalf. It is about giving everyone a choice, not taking it away.

MAINAK BHAUMIK

(Has directed Maach Mishti & More, Aami Aar Amaar Girlfriends...)

There are no alternative to some words. If I want to use the F-word, is there really an alternative? So this censor board law is absolutely baseless, there’s no democracy as far as filmmaking is concerned. Indian films aren’t mature enough. What we see mostly are PG (parental guidance) films. Television, I understand, does not allow liberation of any kind because children watch it too. But films? The censor board doesn’t want us to be realistic. What I suggest is there should be alternative platforms to release films, like in some countries filmmakers release films on iTunes. We should stop caring about movies releasing in the theatres. That’s the only way out.

ANJAN DUTT

(Has directed Bow Barracks Forever, The Bong Connection, Dutta vs Dutta...)

As a creative person, am I allowed to show my reality? Instead of chalking out arbitrary rules, improve the quality of the people who sit there (Central Board of Film Certification). And there is no censor board anymore. The certification board has the right to classify films as ‘A’ or U/A or ‘U’! The certification board must use their abilities creatively. If the film demands the use of foul words in a context, then it should be allowed. Accordingly, the board should give it a certificate. To illogically beep out words isn’t right. If somebody has used it (foul language) to sensationlise and sell his film, then the board should discuss it out openly with the director and producer. That’s why directors go there. If there is moral policing, what’s the point in having creative freedom? If a foul-mouthed character gets angry, he’ll scream. The democratic way is to talk out issues with the director. If one arbitrarily beeps out words, then filmmaking becomes homework. I’m not here to give an examination. I know that cinema has a huge impact in India but you cannot question the medium. If you are creating arbitrary rules, good films will suffer. The certification board has extreme responsibility to distinguish between what is good and what is distasteful. They have to be educated, learned, open-minded people. 

FILMS THAT WOULD HAVE NEVER RELEASED IF PAHLAJ NIHALANI’S CENSOR BOARD HAD ITS WAY

SUMAN MUKHOPADHYAY 

(His Herbert and Kangal Malsat were peppered with cuss words)

Will not showing violence change anything in our society? They can’t stop violence or use of expletives in society, but can just make a scapegoat out of filmmakers. The directive is fundamentally fascist. What is cinema? A depiction of what’s happening around us. This will only kill the new-age filmmakers who are coming up with alternative subjects… for instance films like Gangs of Wasseypur, films that are international in approach, films that are beyond song and dance. Instead, the censor board wants us to project a society through our films which is idyllic, sort of Ramrajatya where there’s no crime, no abuse, where everyone is happy and naive. I’m sorry to say but it’s a very stupid decision. Do they expect that filmmakers will bow down? The only way out would be to protest. 

SRIJIT MUKHERJI

(Has directed Autograph, 22shey Srabon, Chotushkone…)

This is totally pointless, illogical and ridiculous. This is like a gag order, a strong clampdown on the freedom of expression. This is a crackdown on the freedom of speech of every artiste in this country. I totally, strongly condemn and oppose it. Let’s be realistic, if I’m showing a whorehouse, I can’t call it a hospital. And I can’t show prostitutes speaking to each other in chaste, Sanskrit slokas. It is unrealistic and laughable. You might as well ban the entire film industry then, or say that only make films on cartoon characters, or make safe, sanitised films that do not reflect our current society. At this rate, we’ll be left with being a nation of filmmakers who make only children’s films. There has to be a movement, questions need to be asked. I don’t think any filmmaker worth his/her salt will take this lying down. People from across the spectrum should protest and do away with this. If you want to shield a certain section of the society, give an ‘A’ certificate. In fact, the Central Board of Film Certification cannot censor. Going by the guidelines they are only supposed to certify a film. Coming to the ‘violence against women’ directive, there’s violence all around. There’s a rape happening every day in my country. If you can’t stop it through law and order, banning certain words and not showing it on screen is like turning your face away from reality.

ONIR

(Has directed My Brother Nikhil, I Am…) 

I think this is completely ridiculous, especially coming from somebody like Pahlaj Nihalani (the chairperson of the censor board) who has made films with double-meaning dialogues and songs (think Aankhen, Andaaz...). This shows his double standards. In case of violence against women, the censor board needs to see how it is projected. That is what an intelligent censor board evaluates. For that, you need educated and progressive people to be part of the board. If you are telling a story, you need a certain kind of language and a certain kind of story. As long as you are doing it responsibly, no one has the right to take it away from you. I think it is high time we graduate to ratings where films are rated according to the age of the audience. If a film requires abuse and adult portrayal, it should be there. 
Cinema is having to pay the price for a lot of things. When it comes to films, all this morality starts. The censor board is busy putting a ‘No smoking’ ticker on our screens while every stall on the road is selling cigarettes to children. Being an artiste is the biggest handicap in India… you are told that you are not allowed to hurt a religion and community’s sentiments, but what about the laws that hurt the artiste’s creative sentiments?

ANIRUDDHA ROY CHOWDHURY

(Has directed Anuranan, Antaheen, Bunohaans…)

I’m surprised and disturbed. It’ll be a problem if the censor board beeps out certain words. A film is all about its script and context and cinema is a reflection of your life and surroundings. If you cannot use certain words in a given context, then you won’t be truthful to your characters. You’ll then have a compromised version of the story. Give the film an ‘A’ certificate if need be, 
and let it be. 

ARINDAM SIL 

(His Aborto and Ebar Shabor had a fair share of cuss words) 

Filmmaking will definitely become mission impossible with the censor board curbing our freedom. It’s throttling the freedom of cinema. Nowhere else in the world can this be done. So what do we do from now… stop making realistic cinema? Over the years, Indian cinema has become realistic and mature, but now the censor board wants to take us back by a hundred years. We cannot use the word ‘saali’, something that is a part of our everyday vocabulary. We cannot show violence on women in a country where every three seconds a woman is raped. Since our films cannot mirror society, the censor board should ban Mahabharata and Ramayana too. Are we living in a free country? The only way out would be to make silent films. We have to protest.