Reacting to the Defence Ministry’s letter to the CBFC, advising all films, documentaries and web series based on armed forces to obtain an NOC from the ministry, Vishal Bhardwaj says that getting any NOC is a long-drawn and frustrating process and that framing strong guidelines for projects on armed forces through dialogue with filmmakers will yield better results
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; August 5, 2020)

A few days ago, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had raised strong objections to the depiction of our armed forces personnel in some web shows, after it received many complaints in this regard. The ministry also wrote to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), stating that production houses may be advised to obtain an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from them before telecasting any film, documentary or web series with the armed forces as the theme. Reacting to the development, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who is known for films like Maqbool, Haider and Omkara, took to social media and urged for a dialogue between the ministry officials and filmmakers, to discuss the guidelines. In his tweet, Vishal tagged the CBFC chief, Prasoon Joshi, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar and Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence. In a chat with BT, he stressed on the importance of initiating a dialogue at the earliest. Excerpts:

From your recent tweet, it’s evident that you feel a sense of urgency to address this issue...
As a filmmaker, I have been frustrated for the past many years. For example, the CBFC had accepted the guideline that a smoking scene will have to carry a disclaimer. We are the only country in the world to carry something like that on screen. When our films go out to festivals, we are embarrassed before the international community. I don’t know why everyone feels that all the wrong in the world is thanks to our films. Films have traditionally been blamed for the increasing instances of dacoity, smoking and drinking. Once a rule comes into practice, it is almost never pulled down. After the disclaimer on smoking, it became mandatory to get an NOC from the Animal Welfare Board of India if an animal had been employed in the film. We understand the concern of all these ministries — tobacco is bad for health and animals should not be treated badly. But, making NOCs a mandate has only added to the corruption in the system. It gives rise to middlemen, who can ‘negotiate’ the NOC for the filmmaker. In Pataakha’s trailer, there was a shot jis mein ghode ka kaan dikh raha tha. I was asked to procure an NOC to get that passed. It’s such a joke! In our country, animals sometimes become a part of the frame without us doing anything — dogs running in the frame, kabhi haathi chala gaya peeche se ya gaai road pe baithi hai. We have to produce an NOC for that also, which is harassment. We have the greatest regard for the armed forces and owe our lives to them. But, is it fair to penalise the whole industry for something a few filmmakers may have gone wrong with? The MoD has said that it has received complaints about bad portrayal of the armed forces, but those complaints could be anything. I wonder if the ministry officials have examined these complaints themselves. Making NOC mandatory is no solution to the problem. Even if something related to the armed forces makes it to the final cut of the film by chance, the CBFC will ask for the NOC before passing it. Framing strong guidelines and SOPs (Standard Operating Procedure) through a dialogue with the filmmakers will yield a better solution. Let there be a clear line, which cannot be crossed and which makes every filmmaker research thoroughly, and exercise caution from the beginning. We need to deal with this matter with maturity, because no Indian wants to show the armed forces in poor light.

Do you think that the ministries should consult filmmakers before making such NOCs a mandate?
A minister can answer this correctly, Rajnath Singh in this case. The thing is, we don’t see films as a part of literature. You won’t hack the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Surendra Mohan Pathak or Premchand to pieces. Cinema is also a form of literature. Till people don’t change their perception about cinema, and give it more respect, this attitude won’t change. If we don’t stop things now, gradually, it may boil down to taking NOCs from every ministry or industry for depicting them in a film. I plead that we should not set off a wrong precedent with one more NOC. Who knows! Some day, I might even make a film called NOC, jis mein hero ka character filmmaker hai jiski script se moti NOCs ke file hai.

Have you received any reaction for your tweet from the industry?
I don’t see the responses on Twitter, because there are also nasty comments. Trolls ka hamla hota hai uss mein. So, I keep myself safe. I say what I have to on social media, and then I don’t read the comments.

Have there been any offline conversations with other filmmakers in this regard?
I think filmmakers ko andaaza hi nahi hai ki hua kya hai. I sincerely hope that they wake up now. The Producers’ Guild will take it up with the ministry concerned, and we will try to make it a collaborative effort with more accountability on the filmmaker.
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When approached for a response to the point raised by Vishal on Twitter, Aman Anand, PRO, Indian Army, said, “The letter of the MoD is self-explanatory and there is nothing more to say on the subject.”