Kamal’s Wish-waroopam!

I have, in the past, expressed my thoughts on the entire mockery of the Censor (now Certification) Board, censorship issues and its seriousness when the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Aarakshan went through a fate similar to Vishwaroopam. While the thoughts and irking remains the same, the tamasha played out and the hardship of one of the most respected entertainer in the country made me revisit the issue.

To put things in perspective, Vishwaroopam is a well-made slick entertainer, easily comparable to international standards. To quote a review from firstpost.com – ‘Perhaps this is the first time that Kamal looks justified in his life-long obsession with the technical flourish of Hollywood’.

Does it offend Muslims? Since the plot is about an Al Qaeda attempt to explode a bomb and the protagonist’s mission to prevent it, the filmmaker ended up showing their background, training methods etc.  Unfortunately, Al Qaeda has Muslim members and they could not have shown that differently. Yes – the film could have possibly offended Jihadis and I am sure the protesters were not Jihadis.  In fact, there is a scene in the film in which the protagonist offers prayers (namaz) before he goes for the final kill. Should they not be happy as the story is about a good Muslim who takes on terrorists? 

Why did they protest? My answer is simply another question – why did they not protest vehemently in other states as they did in Tamil Nadu? Are the Muslims in Tamil Nadu different from Muslims in other States? The answer lies in the fact that Kamal gets hurt only if this movie not released or delayed in Tamil Nadu.  The impact won’t be much if it is banned elsewhere. For the record, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have more Muslims in terms of numbers as well as percentages as compared to Tamil Nadu.

Logic behind the ban?  While the reason behind the ban in itself is debatable, what was amusing is the ‘significance of 2-week ban’. What would have happened if Kamal has not gone to High Court?  Could he have released the movie after 2 weeks?

Did protesters achieve anything in the entire process? No, would be my answer considering cutting less than 10 minutes does not change the concept. On the other hand, the movie got huge publicity in northern India and had a decent opening for its Hindi version, which would not have happened otherwise.  However, the real reason behind the protest still seems extremely unclear to me! 

Do we need a Censor Board?  In spite of the Supreme Court’s decision on ‘Aarakshan’, which stated that the UP government had no powers to suspend screening of the film on the ground that it may cause breach of peace, States continue to hold filmmakers for ransom. The latest we hear is that the Centre has set up a committee to revisit the Cinematograph Act and recommend measures to enable the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to deal with “contemporary requirements of certification”. I am certain all of us would agree that the problem in hand is not the way films are censored or the lacunae in Cinematograph Act. The problem is the harassment created by fringe groups and the onus of States to protect their filmmakers. 

Click on image to see a satirical take on
future film certification, doing rounds
on social networking sites

On a lighter note, the Committee should look at having members from all religions / castes in the censor board.  Yes, protests can emerge even from sub-sects within these religions / castes! How can we solve that problem? It’s simple - by increasing the number of members to accommodate all of them. Or – why not reservation in the censor board also so that everyone is represented!  Another option would be asking the filmmakers to show the movie first on Doordarshan and give time to viewers to object. After addressing all the objections, the film can be allowed to release. It might take a few years or it may never see the light of the day at all. But how does it matter, after all peace and harmony is solely dependent on the kind of movies being made!

Looks like these things are here to stay as the latest we hear is some Christian groups protesting against Mani Rathnam's  Kadal…… which just hit the theatres.