The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) along with National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) launched a 'Film Facilitation Office' at the Film Bazaar on Saturday in Goa. Col.Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for I&B, unveiled the logo with a short campaign video of 'Film In India', along the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' campaign. Excerpts from the interview:

You met filmmakers in Mumbai earlier this year (Mirror, March 17) to discuss issues with the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Nothing has changed since with two kisses from the latest James Bond film, Spectre, reduced to half.
The main role of the CBFC is certification, not censorship. CBFC cannot give suggestions to film makers to cut scenes and change details. They can only certify a film. If the producer wants to make changes, he can make them himself. We are very clear on this.

Then how has the CBFC got away with ordering cuts to filmmakers?
The CBFC is an autonomous body of intelligent people from different walks of life. The government does not interfere with their day-to-day activities. Censorship should be according to the limitations of the programming codes of the Constitution of India which clearly states what the 'U', 'UA' and 'A' certificate stand for without propagating their ideologies or beliefs.

But the Cinematography Act has not changed since 1952...
The I&B Ministry is working on a new Act. The Justice Mudgal Committee is ready with the first draft. After taking more opinions from experts, we may put it out in the public domain.

There is also the issue of films and documentaries being banned frequently while a propaganda film made by the CBFC Chairperson, Pahlaj Nihalani, is being screened across mediums. Is that fair?
It's not purely only an I&B decision, there are other ministries involved. We need not be overly worried by such freak cases but need to focus on the positive ones instead. From my readings, several films which released in the past, when there was another party in power, also got different cuts. So please don't address this as a government agenda. You can be fair to the government of India in this respect at least.

I may not be precise on statistics but five months ago, it was mentioned that 200 films went to the CBFC and 175 were passed in the first instance itself. Out of the 25 that went to the Revising Committee, only one was not cleared. I am making this comparison only to emphasise that we are the better of the worse. And we are in the process of making the entire process faster and transparent.

How?
We are setting up an online process of certification wherein no CBFC member can decide the date on which a producer will screen his film so there is no pressure on him. It will be a transparent process that protects filmmakers' rights. Once our software improves, we might take the entire process online, whereby you don't have to meet or interact with anyone. We could achieve this in the next five years.

But currently fellow members are peeved that Pahlaj Nihalani is monopolising the CBFC, certifying films at his whims and fancies?
What you are saying is absolutely true. This news has reached the Mantralaya and the Board members are constantly updating us. The Board should work together and its actions should be in favour of films, the government and of course, the entertainment of the people. If this does not happen, the government will interfere. The people of our country are mature enough to know what they can and cannot watch.

During the opening ceremony of the 46th IFFI on Friday, two FTII students held placards and protested from the stands. The Goa police have been told to specifically keep an eye out for FTII students in Goa...
Jaitleyji (Arun Jaitley, Cabinet Minister for Information & Broadcasting) had said that at an international event like IFFI, “Bharat ki Chhavi“ should not be negatively affected by anyone from this country in any way. It was a small protest by two people but they spoilt this image and I was disappointed.

The protests have been going on since the last six months and there has been no outcome yet...
It takes time, it will get sorted out. (Laughs) I really like this about journalists that six months with this government is considered a very long time. But 60 years is not a long time, I appreciate this growing impatience. Right at the beginning, when stories were being spun around the FTII and that a certain ideology was being promoted, we took a stance. We asked filmmakers to start a trust and I, as the government representative, would fund them for the next five years, after which, for another five years, I would give them subsidies. Can the industry come and take over FTII? Where is the intention?

Simultaneously, a fund is being created for young filmmakers to travel to international film festivals with their projects...
Cinema is the greatest soft power of the country. We cannot let a bad administration bring down our strength. Films made in India can win awards across the globe. What they lack is campaign funding. Our prime minister immediately asked us to go ahead and plan it. The intention is there but do we have the know-how? I have been repeatedly saying that the film industry should come and discuss the creation of this new fund with me. The government will be the sponsors while filmmakers create content, select the movies and help our soft power take over the world.

Every year there is a session on 'Single Window Clearance' at IFFI, FICCI Frames, MAMI and every other film festival in India. Can we expect any changes this year?
The first and most important thing is that the attitude of the government officials within our ministries needs to change. For that we need to educate them so they know what it is like to have a film shot in India. We've had long discussions in-house and every day is a learning process. We will evolve and change policies. We may falter and get delayed over permissions, but that will not stop us. Over a period of time, with a single-window-clearance, we will sensitize all departments, with the central government encouraging the states. It will not hap pen immediately, but the intention is there. It will be done in a service fee structure and professionally, with time-bound responses from officials. I met the minister of foreign affairs in Mongolia a couple of months ago and I told him they might want to invite Indians to their beautiful country. He responded by saying all he needed to do was get one of our films filmed here.

What about red tapeism?
Bureaucracy in India has been known for its red tapeism, the point is to not to escape it, but face it. The prime minister has been saying that he will lay out a red carpet instead of red tapism.