Showing posts with label Ugly censor board. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ugly censor board. Show all posts
Farhan Akhtar joins Anurag Kashyap in his fight against anti-smoking disclaimers
8:46 AM
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 29, 2014)
For over a year, Anurag
Kashyap had delayed the release of Ugly, refusing to carry the
man datory anti-smoking disclaimer whenever a cigarette was
seen smouldering on screen.
The film was finally unveiled as a Black Christmas treat because the producers' money was at stake. But Anurag is determined to continue with his fight and refuses to watch his film in the theatres, saying that the disclaimer would make him feel insulted and cheated. Ruing the lack of support from the industry, he has wondered why filmmakers don't love their films enough to fight the battle with him.
Well, he has found an ally in another actor-filmmaker. Farhan Akhtar, who is equally averse to the 'No Smoking' disclaimer, says that it is more of a distraction than an effective campaign. “We all are in agreement that smoking is injurious to health. But is running a disclaimer as a sub-title during a scene the solution to the problem? The answer is 'no',“ Farhan tells Mirror. In his petition submitted in the Bombay High Court, Anurag has argued that the disclaimer restrains a filmmaker's constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. “This warning destroys the aesthetic value of a film and distracts audience from the movie thus ruining the experience of watching a film,“ he had stated earlier.
Farhan agrees that the disclaimer is more of a creative hindrance which takes away from the viewing experience. “It is like putting the lights on in the hall during a scene and expecting not to disturb the audience or cause a lapse in their concentration. Is that possible? The answer again is 'no',“ he reasons.
Anurag has been saying that the responsibility of curbing the use of tobacco rests with the Health Ministry and it should ban tobacco producing companies. If films have to be used as a medium to promote non-smoking, instead of static statutory warnings, the ministry should work closely with film makers to come up with poignant films which would be a more effective way in sending the message across.
Farhan has been talking to his team and other filmmakers on this and wants to reach out to the concerned authorities. “The film industry had willingly accepted and proudly supported the anti smoking public awareness film by attaching it to prints and digital files, to be run before the start of a feature. But to have disclaimers in the film itself is stepping on the filmmakers' toes, demanding that the creator compromise on his integrity,“ he says, adding, “We have a rating system that decides the appropriate age limits for film viewing. I'm sure that smoking can be dealt with through this certification system,“ Farhan said.
The film was finally unveiled as a Black Christmas treat because the producers' money was at stake. But Anurag is determined to continue with his fight and refuses to watch his film in the theatres, saying that the disclaimer would make him feel insulted and cheated. Ruing the lack of support from the industry, he has wondered why filmmakers don't love their films enough to fight the battle with him.
Well, he has found an ally in another actor-filmmaker. Farhan Akhtar, who is equally averse to the 'No Smoking' disclaimer, says that it is more of a distraction than an effective campaign. “We all are in agreement that smoking is injurious to health. But is running a disclaimer as a sub-title during a scene the solution to the problem? The answer is 'no',“ Farhan tells Mirror. In his petition submitted in the Bombay High Court, Anurag has argued that the disclaimer restrains a filmmaker's constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. “This warning destroys the aesthetic value of a film and distracts audience from the movie thus ruining the experience of watching a film,“ he had stated earlier.
Farhan agrees that the disclaimer is more of a creative hindrance which takes away from the viewing experience. “It is like putting the lights on in the hall during a scene and expecting not to disturb the audience or cause a lapse in their concentration. Is that possible? The answer again is 'no',“ he reasons.
Anurag has been saying that the responsibility of curbing the use of tobacco rests with the Health Ministry and it should ban tobacco producing companies. If films have to be used as a medium to promote non-smoking, instead of static statutory warnings, the ministry should work closely with film makers to come up with poignant films which would be a more effective way in sending the message across.
Farhan has been talking to his team and other filmmakers on this and wants to reach out to the concerned authorities. “The film industry had willingly accepted and proudly supported the anti smoking public awareness film by attaching it to prints and digital files, to be run before the start of a feature. But to have disclaimers in the film itself is stepping on the filmmakers' toes, demanding that the creator compromise on his integrity,“ he says, adding, “We have a rating system that decides the appropriate age limits for film viewing. I'm sure that smoking can be dealt with through this certification system,“ Farhan said.
Fight with the Censors will continue, on a larger scale-Anurag Kashyap
8:26 AM
Anurag Kashyap on his struggle with the Censors and more
Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; December 28, 2014)
You have always been a non-conformist. You are vocal about everything.
I am really not a rebel. I have always been truthful as I can’t be diplomatic. In fact, I recently watched PK and enjoyed it. I envy Rajkumar Hirani, Imtiaz Ali, Vishalji (Bhardwaj) as they make outstanding cinema. I have always been honest to myself. I fight to exist and that keeps me grounded.
You also took on the Censor Board.
Yes, that fight is not over. My film Ugly has released, but the fight will continue on a larger scale. I want to continue fighting because I don’t agree with their diktats. It’s not even the law that is passed by the judiciary. It’s just somebody puts out something and we have to follow it. Mahesh Bhatt sahab has already filed a petition in the Supreme Court which is still pending. I feel now the time has come for all of us to take a stand.
You have a fixed audience for your films. Don’t you want to expand your territory?
The audience increases over a period of time. Recently, I went on YouTube and saw one of my films. There were five lakh views; it’s a big thing. My films get downloaded and more people watch it online. Someday this audience will be the paying audience. We just need to figure out a way to get them to the theatres.
Why do you dig dark cinema? Don’t you want to tread other genres?
I think dark is a relative term. Who are the filmmakers we admire in the world? What cinema do they make? What is Gone Girl? What is Birdman? It’s funny but they are all dark films. Why don’t we refer to them as dark cinema? Just because they are from Hollywood? In India, we love to make feel good films. I’m going to make what I like. I like the real and the raw; and this will always be in my films.
Do you want to be a part of the Rs 100-crore club?
I am not saying that I don’t believe in it. Everybody should make money, but I can’t let this govern me and my filmmaking.
How’s your equation with Rajkumar Hirani now?
I’m a huge fan of his work. In fact I am his air-conditioner. My anger lasted for only a week. Who can get angry with Rajkumar Hirani? He’s a good friend.
Buzz is that you are planning to shift your base to Cannes.
I just want to travel a lot right now. I want to cut down the pace of work. I have been working for 22 years and I think I need a break, but I will continue to make films here.
How do you react to the constant buzz about your film, Bombay Velvet?
Recently, I met Rishiji (Kapoor) and I asked him, “Sir, you watched Bombay Velvet and you didn’t like the film. Where did you watch it?” Rishiji replied, “Yaar, tu toh film dikhata hi nahin hain.” He has not even seen the film yet there’s so much talk about him not liking the film. In fact Rishiji asked me, “What have you done? Why is there so much of negativity around you?” I had no answer for him.
Every poster-boy becomes a dartboard - Anurag Kashyap
7:57 AM
Anurag Kashyap on how people perceive him, his upcoming film, censor battles and more
Srishti Dixit (DNA; December 18, 2014)
By all accounts, Anurag Kashyap comes across as a
practical man. He knows the constructs of the industry he works in,
having been a part of it long enough to see the highs and lows, and hard
enough - as an outsider and now a perceived insider. He says it like it
is and ahead of his due-for-release film, he sounds no different.
Ugly is releasing a week after PK. Any fears?
Why should there be insecurities? It’s a very well thought through thing. The primary reason, when we were trying to release Ugly was: Why should we spend more money on planning and analysis than we have spent on the film? It doesn’t make any sense. The industry is not going to change; everybody thinks that there is a certain way in which every film should be promoted. Secondly, why should we promote the film in a wrong way you know, just by using songs, or promising the wrong things. Also, during our discussion, we realised that you decide you want to watch a film by its first promotion, its first trailer, its first look. We do a lot of promotion to get people’s interest in it. Ugly is not a big star cast film, the only promotion is going to be for its content. The content of the film is such that till people don’t see it, there won’t be any word-of-mouth. So we just focussed on making people watch the trailer, see the poster and get intrigued. PK is a 6000-screen release, we are a 400-screen release. We just need four to six shows, they’ll have some 15 shows in every theatre. PK is like a big fish in the sea, all the small fishes cling on to it. We are the small fish.
How did the idea for Ugly germinate?
I’d started writing a story about kidnapping quite a while back but the head of STF in Lucknow, Amit Pathak, he helped me a lot with the actual cases and that helped with the script.
Did you have a specific star-cast in mind while writing the film?
Not the rest, but Rahul Bhat definitely was in mind...
Which is surprising given that he has been off the grid for quite some time...
He has been off the radar for a long time but he was in my head. In my struggling days, I used to see him often. I have seen his rise through Heena and then doing films and then disappearing, then he became a producer. So he was definitely in my mind.
Some call you a pioneer, some call you a sell-out because now you have ventured into commercial cinema. You were quoted saying, “I am not an NGO for indies.” So how do you tackle that kind of criticism?
I am indifferent to it. It is the nature of things. I did not want to start a movement. I wasn’t fighting for everybody’s cinema, I was fighting for my cinema. People turned that fight into everybody’s fight. Then I was made into a poster-boy, I never asked for it. People put you up, then they pull you down. Every poster-boy becomes a dartboard. One thing I take pride in is that I pick up good films. I picked up The Lunchbox. A lot of people make films for God knows what reason! Take responsibility, bring returns. Now anybody can make an independent film, but every film isn’t good. Zaroori nahi hai ki indie hai toh achhi hai. A film that makes sense to me will be supported by me. Many of my films get delayed because we don’t ask for a percentage of the money it makes. Yeh baat sabko pata hai ki ye aadmi free mein karta hai. But main yahi sab karta rahunga toh main kya karunga? I have suffered so much because of this, so much of my time gets consumed in getting a film released, that at one point I used to think ki main hi karta rahunga ye sab ya koi aur bhi karega?
But in Hindi commercial cinema, content isn’t king. Some films making profits are low on quality content...
If it is a Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn or Hrithik Roshan film, people will go and watch it. In that case, the responsibility lies with the producer-director. A Rajkumar Hirani film will run successfully from the start till the end, because content is good. Aamir’s star aura is not as much as Shah Rukh and Salman, but he makes sure that the content is good, so his films run more. If a producer and director take responsibility for the content then the film will make no less than Rs 300-400 crore. But that never happens; they take it for granted ki stars hain toh log aayenge film dekhne. Now look at Queen’s opening. When it opened it made Rs 6 crore but over time, it made 10 times the opening business. With other films, the weekend is Rs 100 crore but by the end it hasn’t touched 200. Ugly won’t have a big opening and I know it. We’ll come after PK on December 26 so the first week of release will be our promotion week. After that the word-of-mouth will pick up and then the second week will be our actual release week. That’s how I’ve thought of it, but let’s see what happens.
You fought a long battle with the Censor Board over the ‘Smoking is injurious to health’ message in Ugly...
The case was deferred by High Court because a similar case is pending in Supreme Court.
In retrospect, do you think that you wasted your time fighting?
Definitely, time waste hua. We would have released the film earlier had we known that the issue would be stretched for so long and this would be the end of it. I wished they told us earlier about the SC case, we would have released Ugly earlier. I’ve decided to forget it because kisi ke paise lage hain aur ispe interest padh raha hai. So, better to release it now.
Do you think that the Censor Board is too touchy?
See, the Censor Board is not an autonomous body. It’s not the Board that is touchy, it is the people who are leading the Censors who are scared of controversies because they are scared of the Ministry. The bureaucrat sitting in the ministry is like ‘Boss, I am not going to the court and be answerable for something.’ And we have this old dinosaur sitting in the ministry. Till the time the Censor Board is not autonomous, things won’t change.
How do you plan on taking on the deep-seated hypocrisy?
We have to fight it. We have to call a spade a spade.
Do you get support from within the film fraternity?
There are people who actually pat your back and say, ‘Let’s do it’ but they don’t come together.
They don’t?
Coming together means vocally addressing an issue together, not lend ing support silently off-record.
But why is it so? If an issue like the ‘Smoking is injurious to heath’ message gets resolved, it will benefit everybody right?
Nobody cares. Someone who doesn’t care about his cinema wouldn’t care how many disclaimers are put on screen. If you really care about your film, if you really love what you do, then you will not allow anything to be put on that screen. The fact that they don’t come together and they allow for so many disclaimers on the screen shows how much they love their films.
About your next release Bombay Velvet, rumours have been doing rounds that Ranbir Kapoor is not happy with the film...
All these rumours have started from one trade magazine, Box Office India. That trade magazine co-produced a film with Fox Star Studios and unki aapas mein ladai chal rahi hai. It doesn’t matter what the rumour is.
When are you releasing the first look of Bombay Velvet?
That is not in my hands. That is for the studio to decide. I can tell you Ranbir loves the film, everybody loves the film; you ask them and they will tell you the same thing. There is a hell lot of excitement around the film and we cannot reveal what we are planning, we aren’t at liberty to say.
Reports suggested that you were playing the lead in a Sudhir Mishra film?
Ye news jahaan se aayi hai unhi se poochiye! I shot for Sudhir Mishra’s Aur Devdas precisely for one day; it is the film that he is shooting at the moment.
Anurag Kashyap to file petition against Censor's directive on smoking in films
9:58 PM
Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; November 26, 2013)
Director
Anurag Kashyap will be filing a petition in the Bombay High Court today
challenging the directive on smoking in Hindi films. The director was in
a stand off mode with the Censor Board since the last six months as he
refused to take the Censor certificate for his film, Ugly.
The petition reads: ‘Such unreasonable conditions clearly fetter the rights of filmmakers to free speech and expression enshrined by the Constitution of India.
Running a scroll not only destroys the aesthetic value of cinema but also diverts viewers from the film playing before their eyes thus denting their pleasure of the cinema viewers. The rules also prescribe health and anti-tobacco messages and disclaimers to be given during the middle of the film depicting tobacco products or their use. Such a provision will make it impossible to make a film without an intermission, even if the filmmaker so desires.’
Kashyap says, “As a pre-condition for certification of my film Ugly, the CBFC has directed me to insert a disclaimer on the shots, where a cigarette is shown and has refused to certify my film if I don’t include it.”
He adds, “I feel my film is my property and is not an advertisement hoarding for the health ministry. I make films borrowed from what’s happening in society and I take my films very seriously unlike the various government agencies who still adhere by the 80-year-old conservative definition of cinema as a variety entertainment. If smoking and tobacco consumption is a huge problem for the society, it’s the responsibility of the health ministry to see to it that the tobacco production is stopped and it’s consumption is banned in the country. They can’t thrust their inability to do that and make it my responsibility to rid the society of social ills. I want to take the legal route to contest their illogical and unfair rule and challenge it in court.”
The movie was supposed to release this year, but has been pushed back
due to the filmmaker’s unwillingness to carry the ‘Cigarette smoking is
injurious to health’ disclaimer in the scenes that depict characters
smoking.
Anurag Kashyap, Phantom Films Private Limited and
DAR Motion Pictures are proposing to file a petition in
furtherance of a letter by the CBFC refusing to grant certification for
the film Ugly.The petition reads: ‘Such unreasonable conditions clearly fetter the rights of filmmakers to free speech and expression enshrined by the Constitution of India.
Running a scroll not only destroys the aesthetic value of cinema but also diverts viewers from the film playing before their eyes thus denting their pleasure of the cinema viewers. The rules also prescribe health and anti-tobacco messages and disclaimers to be given during the middle of the film depicting tobacco products or their use. Such a provision will make it impossible to make a film without an intermission, even if the filmmaker so desires.’
Kashyap says, “As a pre-condition for certification of my film Ugly, the CBFC has directed me to insert a disclaimer on the shots, where a cigarette is shown and has refused to certify my film if I don’t include it.”
He adds, “I feel my film is my property and is not an advertisement hoarding for the health ministry. I make films borrowed from what’s happening in society and I take my films very seriously unlike the various government agencies who still adhere by the 80-year-old conservative definition of cinema as a variety entertainment. If smoking and tobacco consumption is a huge problem for the society, it’s the responsibility of the health ministry to see to it that the tobacco production is stopped and it’s consumption is banned in the country. They can’t thrust their inability to do that and make it my responsibility to rid the society of social ills. I want to take the legal route to contest their illogical and unfair rule and challenge it in court.”
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