Times of India: Mumbai: Sunday,
May 12, 2013.
In recent
times, moviemakers across the country have become adept at producing content
that can pass through the censor board's scrutiny with a UA certificate -
movies that can be watched under parental guidance.
A Right to
Information (RTI) Act application reveals that today Indian cinema, cutting
across genres and languages, produces the largest number of movies that appeal
to young adults. In 2012, 389 of the total 880 movies made were awarded the UA
certificate. On the other hand, the count of adult movies fell from 244 to 150
in just one year.
Experts said
over time, producers have figured out ways to smartly weave in an adult scene,
a smart line, a romantic scene or violence, into the movie, without any major
cuts.
The censor
board applied a total of 521 cuts in 2008 for passing 1,325 films, 529 cuts in
1,255 films that were made in 2009, 432 cuts in 2010 for reviewing 1,274 films,
444 cuts in 1,255 films in 2011, and 330 cuts in 880 films reviewed in 2012.
RTI activist
Vihar Durve, who received this information, alleged that these days, censor
board officials are in hand in glove with film producers and have been clearing
films containing obscene content.
A senior
producer, though, told TOI that there are two reasons for the trend towards UA
certificates - one, dodging the increasingly vociferous moral police; two, fear
of losing revenue. "After all, broadcasters are hesitant to buy adult
content."
As filmmaker
Mahesh Bhatt said, "At least 40% of our revenue comes from the satellite
territory. Recent findings indicate that since most Indian homes are single TV
homes, movies which are perceived to have a high dose of erotica get rejected
by the family audience. Even in the second decade of the 21st century, India
continues to be conservative in its taste of movies. I think this explains why
the industry is making more UA content these days."
Vishal
Bhardwaj, whose film 'Ek Thi Daayan' ran into trouble recently with the
National Commission for Women, said, "There is a very new strange kind of
pressure on the filmmaker today. The producer is justifiably concerned about
satellite revenues. So, either you compromise on the content or on the budget.
It's definitely going to affect the creative process."
The RTI query
also shows up that a large number of cuts are given to films from Tamil Nadu.
Suresh Laxman, producer and honorary secretary of the South Indian Film Chamber
of Commerce, said, "The Tamil film industry is trying its best to get the
number of cuts reduced so that we get U or UA certificates and we can show the
films on satellite TV."
He added that
the audience in Mumbai is more liberal. "The attitude of people changes
from region to region."
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