Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore has shot down Central Board of Film Cerfication chief Pahlaj Nihalani's order banning use of certain cuss words and expressions in films.

The minister withdrew Nihalani's list, which contained such Hindi words and expressions as 'haraami', 'saali' and even the city's old name 'Bombay', after film industry delegation met him on Wednesday afternoon at his New Delhi office. The Bollywood contingent included producer-director Anurag Kashyap, producers Siddharth Roy Kapur and Mukesh Bhatt, and Uday Singh, CEO of the Indian arm of the Motion Pictures Association of America. The minister, according to source present at the meeting, asked the delegation to just "ignore" Nihalani's list.

Confirming this, Mukesh Bhatt told Mumbai Mirror: "He understood our point that it takes away from the artistic freedom of a filmmaker and assured us that we needn't worry about the list. Much to our collective relief, he also said that he will ask Nihalani to "take it easy."

Rathore, who won an Olympic silver in Double Trap shooting before entering politics, promised the filmmakers that he will meet with the industry's representatives once every three months and ensure that issues discussed at these meetings are promptly looked into.

Bhatt said the minister also assured that a comprehensive review of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, will be undertaken soon. "Being a young minister, he was very receptive to our suggestions and this time, for once, we aren't cynical," Bhatt said. "There was a strong argument against the current certification criteria which classifies films as 'U', 'UA' and 'A'. The Minister agreed that a ratings system like the one followed in the United States (classifies films according to agebracket) is a more rational one and we are hoping that it will be put into action soon," he said.

The minister agreed with the delegation's view that expletives in a film certified 'adult' need not be beeped out. In the Varun Dhawan-starrer Badlapur, several words were muted out despite the movie being certified 'adult'.

The issue of smoking supers - the mandatory warning that must appear on screen whenever a character lights up - was also discussed. "We told him it's not helping either of the parties concerned and all agreed that instead of the supers, the filmmakers should find innovative ways - short films for instance - to spread the anti-smoking message. All of this has been seriously discussed and we are hopeful that it will be implemented in the coming months," Bhatt concluded.
-------------------------
Filmmakers raise various issues related to censorship in a meeting with I&B ministers, assured of regular industry-ministry interface
MID-DAY (February 27, 2015)

Noted filmmakers met senior officers of the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing controversy over the Censor Board's attempt to ban certain Hindi and English cuss words in films.

In a letter to the regional officers two weeks ago, board chief Pahlaj Nihalani had ordered them not to issue certificates to films which use the 28 specified expletives. The order, however, was put on hold after board members alleged they had not been consulted and that the list had to be approved by the ministry.

A panel comprising Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Vishal Bhardwaj and Mukesh Bhatt  met minister of state for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore. A range of issues, right from creation of a single window clearance system to apprehension about moral policing and doing away with the 'no-smoking' disclaimer, were deliberated upon.

The ministry has decided to hold a meeting with industry members every three months for smooth functioning of the Censor Board. Veteran actor and BJP MP Vinod Khanna, and state urban development minister Babul Supriyo were also part of  the meeting.

Kashyap tweeted, "Super meeting with the ministry & super initiative of the Govt to develop an interface directly with working professionals of Film industry. Talked about everything from a ratings board to self regulation and left with a lot of hope and positivity (sic)."

Kulmeet Makkar, CEO of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, says: "We discussed how critical issues such as smoking can be addressed more effectively and aesthetically replacing the current disclaimers."

A source says it was agreed upon that big stars would shoot for no-smoking disclaimers which can be played before the screening of a film and post interval.