The ‘censor thing’ is damaging us: Abhishek

Film-maker feels adult and sleazy needs to be distinguished.

MUMBAI:

Film-maker Abhishek Kapoor feels it is high time to create a definite rating system for films so that a demarcation between sleaze and adult content can be made for the convenience of film-makers and viewers, both. Will it ever be done?

In the current scenario, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) categorises both adult and sleazy content under one umbrella of A-certificate.

Kapoor, the director of films like Rock On!! and Kai Po Che! said, “We can always put a rating system where we can distinguish between a good film and a sleazy film. A lot of people have been discussing this because the censor thing is damaging us [the industry].”

“No one realises that it’s like a bottleneck for such a big industry and we have to figure this out keeping in mind that you don’t want to offend the sensibilities,” the film-maker told IANS.

Censorship needs to shape up to offer innovative solutions, and to refrain from moral policing.

“The problem is you can’t show an A-certificate film [on TV] because if you televise it, you will also end up showing some absolute sleaze porn as well because they both go with an A-certificate,” he said.

“There should be a bifurcation; what can be shown in adult certification and what can be shown on television or what cannot be shown on television so that one can come up with some other certification,” he added.

His films have been clean so far, but Kapoor feels that when he ventures into bolder subjects, his film should not fall prey to censor certification.

“Tomorrow, if I make an adult film, nobody should be able to stop me like that. You can keep a separate rating for it,” he added.

Citing the example of National Award winning film The Dirty Picture, he said, “The film had to go through so much of an embarrassing experience. At the end of the day, it’s not just a business, it is a piece of art and it’s treated so badly that it’s very humiliating.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2013.

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