Abolish censorship: Shyam Benegal
Abolish censorship: Shyam Benegal
New Delhi,1 January: Eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal who on Today was named to head a panel to look into the functioning of the Censor Board has spoken out against film censorship. Benegal in interviews to the media after his appointment said the Censor Board should merely decide what kind of audience and age should be there for particular films and not cut up scenes.In one word, I would say abolish censorship. I personally don’t believe in censorship. I am concerned about the imposition of censorship here, which has no real purpose except to come in the way of your expression. There is a certain amount of debate going on in the press about censorship and chairman and how it does not appeal to large number of people.M
This kind of thing does not make sense. It has no place. Keeping this in view and in sync with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a committee headed by Shyam Benegal has been constituted to suggest the paradigm for ensuring such a milieu.The recommendations of the panel are expected to provide a holistic framework and enable those tasked with the work of certification of films to discharge their responsibilities keeping in view this framework, it said. The other members of the panel are Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, adman Piyush Pandey and film critic Bhawana Somaaya. National Film Development Council MD Nina Lath Gupta and Joint Secretary (Films) Sanjay Murthy are also to be part of the committee. Benegal, 80, known for movies like Ankur, Bhumika, Junoon, Nishant, had on the sidelines of the International Film Festival of India in Goa in November 2015, said he personally does not believe in censorship of creativity.
There has been criticism on social media of Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani as well as by some of his colleagues after the board shortened the length of kissing scenes in the James Bond movie Spectre. The CBFC had recently circulated a list of banned “cuss” words, which also triggered controversy.The government statement Friday on Benegal’s appointment says the panel would “be expected to take note of the best practices in various parts of the world, especially where the film industry is given sufficient and adequate space for creative and aesthetic expression”. The panel is to “recommend broad guidelines / procedures under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act / Rules for the benefit of the chairperson and other members of the Screening Committee”. The statement says that “in most countries of the world there is a mechanism/process of certifying feature films and documentaries. However, it has to be ensured that in doing so, artistic creativity and freedom do not get stifled/curtailed and the people tasked with the work of certification understand these nuances. Indian films have glorious history.
