Itishree Misra (BOMBAY TIMES; August 29, 2019)

Writer, lyricist, poet and also the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Prasoon Joshi wears all his hats well and with precision. At a recent event, the writer of several films, including Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and the more recent Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi, Prasoon talks about the popularity of content-driven films and making CBFC controversy-free.

Lately, we’ve seen content-driven films like Badhaai Ho, Andhadhun, Uri: The Surgical Strike and Raazi doing very well at the box office, as opposed to films that had big stars. Would you say that the story of the film is its hero now?
Yes, in a way. See we are dealing with a satiated generation of people. There’s so much of entertainment available vis-à-vis what we had before. Gone are the days when we used to wait for Fridays and wonder which film will release this week and woh chahe jo bhi ho, dekhni hi hai. That was the deprived generation, itna TV nahi tha, web toh tha hi nahi. Now when people go to watch a film, they make an informed decision. So your expectations are very different. Just watching your favourite stars doing something on screen is not what you’re there for.

Also gone are the days when you could not see your favourite star. Your favourite star is now in your phone! He or she is there on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even on TV. So you’re no longer being deprived of seeing your favourite star. Your hero or heroine is now right in front of your eyes 24X7. The star looks more approachable, more tactile, so they appear less god-like. They are freely discussing their problems with you on social media. So today, if your film doesn’t promise good content, it’s unlikely that people will go and watch it.

So is the age of stars over in Bollywood vis-à-vis actors?
The age of stars can never be over, but the definition of stars is no longer the same. That god-like, larger-than-life persona is no longer there. There will always be stars. People will talk about a particular person and say I love the way he or she talks or looks or acts, but that sense of worship that people used to feel, that has changed. It’s now a more multidimensional relationship that people share with a star. They also want to know how their star lives, eats, how witty they are, is he or she intelligent or not, what he or she does in their everyday lives and their personal relationships. So it’s no more a relationship of a star and a fan, it’s more like that of a friend.

You have taken a strong stand against the open letter written by 49 filmmakers, activists and artists against mob lynchings to the government. You along with 61 others have said that they ‘expressed selective concern and demonstrated a clear political bias and motive.’ Would you want to say more on the topic?
I feel human life is very important. There’s no debate on that. If somebody says that human life is getting compromised somewhere, of course one will raise their voice. You have to raise your voice and bring it to the notice of the authorities. You can’t just let it go on, and you can’t justify it under any disguise or garb. But if the topic would have been that only, I would have said nothing. But unfortunately that’s not the case. The people who are bringing this to your notice, haven’t done this for the first time, they have been doing it again and again. I question the intent of it. I feel there is a definite dislike. I feel this is condescending and unfair. You look at any policy of the current government, they are not biased towards anybody or any particular section of the society. They’re being absolutely neutral. If you feel something is not right, then there’s two ways of looking at it. One is that ‘Oh! There’s something not right and we need to constructively look at this and solve this problem.’ Second is you’re portraying a dark picture and you’re making people feel as if nothing is going right in this country and it’s doomed. And that is depressing. That is misleading people; that is not constructive. That is because your approach is to malign the government and say that these people do not know governance. And that’s only because you don’t agree with them, you don’t like them. And all I’m saying is that if that is the reason of your criticism then I don’t find it genuine.

CBFC has really become non-controversial these days, so much so that it’s no longer in news.
That’s because I’m totally fair. No one can say that I am above board. The doors of CBFC are open. Main vivaad ki jagah vichaar-vimarsh mein yaqeen rakhta hoon. Mujhe lagta hai through discussion, through dialogue, you can always put forth your point. What is the role of the CBFC? It is a set of representation of people. Who is there in the committee of CBFC? Housewives, school teachers, engineers, advocates, these are the kind of normal people who sit in the committee and they watch a film to see how it will impact the people. That is what our job is. Filmmakers sometimes get agitated and say that the board doesn’t understand the film. Of course, they don’t understand the film! They are there to bring to you the point of view of the common people. So I tell them, please sit together and the filmmaker will tell you his or her point of view and you tell the point of view of the common person. There definitely would be a common meeting ground for them both, if they honestly talk. So I have only tried to bring a lot of transparency and dialogues through which you see, a lot of things have been solved. Take for instance Article 15, it deals with a sensitive subject, but still it was released. Also Padmaavat, there was so much of confusion but in the end it was released, also the film on our Prime Minister, PM Narendra Modi. I don’t know why there used to be so much of controversy. Also because I request the filmmakers to not use CBFC to create unnecessary controversies for their marketing or promotions. Because I would not be able to give any quotes for your promotions.