Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; May 6, 2014)

Producer-director Ashuu Trikha’s upcoming film, Koyelaanchal, that stars Suniel Shetty and Vinod Khanna, has been facing troubles. Trikha had to get the film’s posters and publicity material re-done as the Association of Motion Pictures and Television Programme Producers (AMPTPP) objected to a line in the posters. It seems that AMPTPP didn’t want the line ‘Sabse bada mafia Bharat sarkaar hai’ to be included in the film’s posters.

Asshu Trikha says, “If AMPTPP does not approve of the publicity material, then the producer can’t apply for a censor certificate. AMPTPP told me that I either remove the line or give it in writing that if someone raises an objection or creates legal trouble, I shall be solely responsible. I had no choice but to make the changes.”

Actor Suniel Shetty, who plays a district collector in the film, says, “It is very sad that objections are being raised even though people haven’t watched the film. Nobody stands up for us and these associations continue to raise objections.” hitlist looks at other films that faced similar issues due to the opposition of organisations other than the censor board.

Title tussles
Phantom, that stars Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, is supposed to be a cross-country film with the plot spanning India, Lebanon, USA and UK. In the film, Saif plays a character that goes by the name Daniyal Khan and this was also the film’s working title. The makers were apparently told by some religious organisations that the film’s name was insensitive to the minority community. As a result, it was changed to Phantom.

Similarly, Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMMPA) raised objections to Mritunjay Devvrat’s film, The Bastard Child. The director then had to change it to Children of War. “No scene had to be cut, but I had to change the name. I went by their decision, as I wish to complete all formalities and release the film as soon as possible. In India and Bangladesh, it will release as Children of War. The original title will stay the same abroad,” Mritunjay recently said in an interview.

In September 2013, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikhs, objected to a film titled Singh Sahib the Great. The organisation pointed out that using the words ‘ Singh Sahib’ in a film’s film was disrespectful. In the end, makers released the film as Singh Saab the Great.

Another instance is when salon and beauty parlour associations were up in arms against Shah Rukh’s production, then titled Billu Barber. With the association raising objections to the use of the word ‘barber’, SRK’s production house then decided to drop the word ‘ barber’ from the title in its pre- release promotional campaigns.

Scenes under attack
The Tamil Nadu government banned Kamal Haasan’s film, Vishwaroopam, as it feared law and order problems in the light of opposition by a few Muslim groups. Muslim groups said that the film portrayed Muslims as terrorists. Kamal Hassan finally had to delete seven scenes from his film and some scenes were also muted.

In a similar fashion, Ajay Devgn had to remove some scenes from Son of Sardaar as they were deemed offensive by Sikh community leaders. He even screened the film for community leaders from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in Amritsar after objections were raised regarding controversial dialogue and imagery in the film’s trailer.

In 2009, Kaminey’s makers faced troubles when Jagannath Sena Sangathan filed an FIR (First Information Report) against them at a police station in Puri. The organisation was upset about the line ‘ Apna Haath Jagannath’ being written on a poster showing a scantily clad woman on the wall of a public toilet. The objectionable portion of the scene was then removed from the prints that were released in Orissa.

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; December 27, 2013)

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has asked producer-director Mritunjay Devvrat to change the title of his film The B***** d Child. In all likelihood, it may be renamed Children of War — Nine Months To Freedom.

A source says, “The censor panel feels the title is abusive towards a child. They have issued a showcause notice to the producer to change it.’’ An official from the Censor Board states, “ We examined the film and red- flagged the title as it is derogatory for a child. We have asked the producer to remove it from the title.”

Devvrat however maintains, “We are still in talks with the Censor Board. We have not been informed about any change in the title. This is the first time I am hearing it.” Adds the filmmaker, “The Censor Board is doing exactly what we are telling society not to do. They are not just banning a name, they are indicating to society that these children should be banned and disallowed. My film will still be called The B***** d Child for all purposes except for the formalities that require the approval of people who do not understand or care.’’ He plans to release the film internationally with the original title.

The film is based on the 1971 Bangladesh genocide where thousands of women were raped and the resulting illegitimate children during the Indo- Pak war for the liberation of Bangladesh.

Incidentally, Devvrat had been keen on the title ever since he registered it with the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association ( IMPPA).

T P Aggarwal, president, IMPPA says, “We had been asking the producer to change the title, but as he was adamant we cleared the title. When the CBFC objected, he came back to us and registered a new title Children of War— Nine Months To Freedom.’’

The film stars Pawan Malhotra, Victor Banerjee, Farooq Shaikh, Raima Sen and Indraneil Sengupta.