Lauding the Bombay High Court verdict on Monday which ordered the release of Udta Punjab with only one cut of the 13 recommended by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the Bengali film industry said the decision would allow filmmakers to work with a lot of freedom.
“It is a good decision and we welcome it. At the same time it will put a rein on the ‘dadagiri’ of the board officials,” said Krishna Narayan Daga, vice-president, Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA), talking to The Indian Express.
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Terming the verdict as ‘good news’, director Gautam Ghosh congratulated the producer and director of the film, “For me, the scissors are not applicable. There should only be gradation of films. The word censor is not applicable to the board of certification,” he said.
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Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee said the CBFC needed to be a bit more liberal. “With time, the subjects of films are changing and a film should be treated in a way that allows makers to display their talent in this form of art,” he said.
Actor-turned-politician Roopa Ganguly said too much interference of the board hampered the vision of the filmmaker. “The makers of a film have the best judgement about how and why a film should be made. Members of the board need to be a lot more emancipated and open-minded,” Ganguly said. “Films, like books, should be left for the public to decide whether they want to watch or not. I am against restriction or banning a film. The board should certify the film as to which age group it should be viewed,” she added.
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The BJP leader also pointed out that the issue should not be looked at politically. “Simply because it is a central board does not mean the central government has to be held responsible for its action. People should understand that too,” Ganguly said.
Director Kaushik Ganguly, said the verdict also meant a lot of responsibility for filmmakers. “This should have happened much earlier. As we celebrate, we should also understand the responsibility of self-censorship that has fallen on our shoulders. If we don’t deal with this freedom sensibly, there will be a lot of trash and unwanted material passed on in the name of art and the scissors age will be brought back. There has to be a change in taste as far as filmmaking is concerned,” he said.