At IFFI, the lyricist spoke about how his role as CBFC chairman has led him to maintain a distance from the industry, and the personal and professional price he’s paid for it
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; November 27, 2022)

Prasoon Joshi, who has been the CBFC chairman for the last five years, says that he has maintained a deliberate distance from films, and written fewer songs, since taking on that role. “I was on the board of several major film companies and I resigned from them after becoming the CBFC head. Yeh mera style hai kaam karne ka. Main nishpaksh rehna chahta tha, main nishtha se kaam karna chahta tha. I am not part of certification of those films in which I’m involved. Somewhere, commercially, I’ve had to pay a price as well,” the lyricist said during his recently-held masterclass on Art And Craft Of Lyric Writing at IFFI (International Film Festival of India).

Prasoon continued, “I have been friends with a lot of people in the industry. But I have kept a distance to judge films judiciously and fairly so that everyone can reach out equally and everyone is judged fairly. If it comes with a price then I have paid the price.”

He added, “People can say whatever they want to, but all I can tell them is – main factory mein tarasha hua patthar nahin hoon. Main nadi ke kinare pada hua patthar hoon, jisne 50 thokrein khayi hain uske baad uska aakar gol hua hai. Aise hi gol nahin ban gaya hoon main. No one from my family was in films. No one came to Bombay with me and neither did I know anyone in the advertising world. I found my own way. Maine apni thokrein khayi hain aur un thokron ka prabhav ye hai ki kahin golayi aayi hai aur un golaiyon ka prabhav aap ko dikhta hai.”

‘IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS HIGHER REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN CBFC COMMITTEES, EVEN IF IT’S LOPSIDED’
Prasoon also said that 70% of the members in the CBFC committees today are women, and that it is really important for him to include more women members. “It is a bit lopsided. Who are these women? They are from all walks of life. Now, why is it important for me that women are in these committees? Kai baar woh maa bhi hoti hai, behen bhi hoti hain, receiving end pe hoti hain. It is important that they are comfortable. Since I have joined CBFC, I have ensured that there is unfair representation of women – lopsided representation of women – in those committees (i. e. higher ratio of women). I am not doing male bashing, but women take more interest in the shaping of the society. Unke upar dayitwa (responsibility) hota hai toh mujhe tasalli hoti hai.”

‘A FILMMAKER CANNOT SAY THEIR FILM IS JUST FOR SELF-GRATIFICATION IF THEY SEEK MONEY FROM A MOVIEGOER’
When asked if the CBFC sometimes tends to ‘unnecessarily use its scissors to cut films’, Prasoon expanded on his own philosophy on censorship during his tenure, saying, “We stay in a society, toh usmein kuch systems bante hain. Jaise hum sadak par chalne ke niyam banaate hain. Animal kingdom mein toh kapde nahi hote, but we celebrate wearing clothes, we make it an art form. Fabric design pe jaate hain. Koi usse yeh bhi keh sakta hai, aap mera freedom lerahe hain, mujhe kapde pehna rahe hain. But somewhere, there is an understanding in human civilization that we all want to see each other in a certain way. Aur bhasha ka istemaal hai, ki hum aapas mein public mein iss tarah se bolenge. Ek code of conduct evolve hota hai. It’s dynamic, ever-evolving. And kahin na kahin, doosre ke baare mein sochna important ho jaata hai. So, I have tried to handle this system (at CBFC) – jo pehle se chala aa raha hai – gracefully. And to solve these matters by asking ‘samaaj kya dekhna chahta hai?’. A filmmaker cannot say that a film is made just for their own gratification. If you’re seeking money from a moviegoer’s wallet, you can’t say that I don’t respect the opinion of the person from whose wallet I am seeking money. As long as we find the right balance between complete expression and responsibility and sensitivity towards the milieu and society we live in, I think we can solve it. And that has been my approach. As long as the intent is to solve it. The intent is not to play the blame game. The intent is not ki logon ko kathghare mein khada karo.”

‘LISTENERS SHOULD BE HELD EQUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TYPE OF SONGS BEING MADE TODAY’
Talking about the sexism in the lyrics of certain songs, Prasoon said that creators and listeners “should all be held equally responsible” for them. “If you want any change, then you have the biggest button. Uska bahishkar karne ka button aap ke paas hai. You can’t say that I will criticize objectification of women in songs during the day and in the evening, I will dance to those songs. Double standards are not going to work. Regardless of how harsh the market is, jo bikta nahi, woh tikta nahi,” he said.