Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Censor board will show its cutting edge at festival
BackBack

Censor board will show its cutting edge at festival

A discussion on sex, violence, profanity, censorship and much more at the Cut-Uncut Festival

Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, feature lashings of strong language. (Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, feature lashings of strong language.)Premium
Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, feature lashings of strong language.
(Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, feature lashings of strong language.)

Mumbai: Sex! Violence! Profanity! Uncensored! Presented by the Central Board of Film Certification!

Expect long queues, if not a minor stampede, at the Cut-Uncut Festival which will be held at Siri Fort Auditorium in Delhi between 26 and 28 April. The festival is the brainchild of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and has been organized by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry. It aims to clear the air on the process of film certification and provide a common, and public, platform for aggrieved filmmakers and activists to thrash out issues of censure and censorship of the movies.

Does cinema merely titillate or does it provoke its viewers to act out their sexual fantasies, often on unwilling subjects? The debate has been raging across India since the Delhi gang-rape in December, with several sections of society identifying popular cinema as one of the main villains in the objectification of women. “Given the present scenario and the turmoil the country is going through, there is a lot of debate about the role played by censorship and how films affect society," said an I&B ministry official on condition of anonymity. “Censorship norms are constantly evolving, so the event looks at where we were and where we have come."

CBFC’s primary function is to certify movies, rather than hack away at them, but ever so often, it prevents viewers from listening to abusive language and watching scenes depicting sexual behaviour and violence. “CBFC tries to protect artistic freedom, but the ministry gets a lot of flak for not being sensitive enough," said the official, who is not authorised to speak to the media.

The board has been holding several closed-door meetings with film industry professionals over the past few weeks, and it is now taking the issue into the public domain by organising discussions between filmmakers, activists and self-appointed moral guardians at the festival. Any member of the public who is above 18 (and who happens to be living in Delhi) is welcome to witness the exchange. “The event aims to be interactive and friendly," the official said.

The format of the festival is a presentation on a topic followed by a discussion and a screening. For instance, Chennai-based filmmaker and film scholar K. Hariharan will analyse the audio cuts that have been imposed on profanity over the years, which will be followed by a discussion, in which Sholay director Ramesh Sippy, Omkara director Vishal Bhardwaj, and pro-censorship activist Pratibha Naithani, among others, will participate. Screenings of Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur (part I) and M. Sasikumar’s Tamil movie Subramaniapuram, both of which feature lashings of strong language, will follow the discussion.

Day two promises to be more eventful. The theme “Sex, Nudity, Portrayal of Women in Cinema and the Kiss" will be thrashed out by producer Ekta Kapoor, filmmakers Jahnu Barua, Nitin Chandra and T.K. Rajeev Kumar and National Commission for Women member Nirmala Samant Prabhavalkar. A screening of the silent film Karma from 1933, which features frank kissing sequences, will be shown, followed by the contentious Malayalam coming-of-age movie Rathinirvedam from 1978.

The third day will bring offenders and the offended together in the same room through conversations about movies and documentaries with political themes that have faced protests and censorship. The day, and the festival, concludes with Yash Chopra’s Dharmaputra, which looks at communal strife at the time of Partition, and the Telugu movie A Woman, which had to be renamed after its original title, A Woman in Brahminism, provoked a furore in Andhra Pradesh.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 24 Apr 2013, 07:15 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App