Recently Pahlaj Nihalani, the new chief of the Censor Board circulated a list of cuss words and potentially offensive phrases that the BJP intends to ban on silver screen. The internet as usual went crazy over the list. It has been interpreted by many as the moral policing started by the BJP.
On Monday, 23 rd February, the Censor Board of Film Certification, after a five hour long meeting, decided to put on hold the list circulated by Nihalani that was intended for the regional offices of the Board. News which was met with huge relief from the Bollywood filmmakers.
The controversial list
The list by Nihalani contained 13 English and 15 Hindi expressions that were categorized as expletives. Apparently, Nihalani’s list was not approved by the board before the release.
The list includes glorification of bloodshed, double-meaning phrases, violence against women etc. while also instructing that Mumbai should never be referred to as Bombay in any way.
Reaction of Tollywood
As the hold on the ban was issued, the entire Bollywood heaved a sigh of relief. But a total contrasting situation was found down south in Tollywood. The hold was met with hostility and anger; it was alleged that Bollywood gets off easy while Tollywood never ceases to face the wrath of the censor board.
Gopimohan, a well-known writer, point out the fact that even though there isn’t a list of objectionable words for films, they still face the axe; while TV shows seem to get away with the same. He also sarcastically added that the concept of context is lost on the Censor Board officials.
Gopimohan’s resentment is justified though. In one of Mahesh’s films, Aagadu, a reference to the rear side of a car with being fat had to be changed under the scrutiny of the Censor Board. And this is not the only instance that happened. The common words such as thokkalo (useless), munda (widow), lutcha (con) are in the list of banned words.
Director Madhura Shreedhar points to the lack of a proper appealing system and says any contest against the Board decision puts the release of the film in jeopardy. That puts both money and respect at stake.
To deal with the alleged harshness of the Censor Board, filmmakers resort to a witty way of slipping the content past. Use of words with subtle hints to the intended use gets the film past the hawk eye of the Board without damaging the humor. Films with big stars generally aim the family audience and hence cannot afford to have an ‘A’ certificate slapped to them. Hence the use of such subtle hints has become the norm.
Censor Board as the new cultural police?
Censor board exists for a reason. To draw a line between what is perceptible as an offensive or uncultured action and what is not. Censorship has evolved a lot since the British days. In present days, the main aim of the Censor Board is to put a leash on communal and religious provocations.
The Board doesn’t always have an option but to censor certain contents to appease and control certain communities. At the end of the day, the debate remains on what should be censored and what shouldn’t be.