Indian Censor Board beeps ‘Bombay’
Mihir Joshi’s song ‘Sorry’ on the 2012 Delhi gang rape case screened; musician terms the decision as ‘insane’
The Censor Board’s move has sparked controversy, with some netizens terming the decision as ‘emotionless’. PHOTOS: PUBLICITY/@MIHIRJOSHIMUSIC
India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) courted controversy after it decided to beep out the word ‘Bombay’ from the lyrics of an English song before it was released on television channels, reported The Hindu. Musician Mihir Joshi, who released his first album Mumbai Blues last year, was surprised when he found out that one of his songs titled Sorry had been aired on television channels with the word ‘Bombay’ being muted from it.
The song Sorry, written in reference to the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, is in the form of an apology from a father to his daughter for sending her into a world where crimes against women are a norm. Expressing his discontent over the decision on Twitter, Joshi said, “In a song that talks about rape and other terrible things done to women, how is the word ‘Bombay’ the most offensive thing?”
Joshi termed the CBFC’s decision as ‘insane’ and ‘wrong’, stating that the lyrics to the song were not meant to demean the city and that the word ‘Bombay’ was only featured in the song as it rhymed with the words ‘today’ and ‘say’. According to CBFC chairman Pahlaj Nihalani, the cut was made on December 5 by the examining committee comprising Neelima S Naik and Deepak Ramakant Tandel under former CBFC chairman Leela Samson.
But Nihalani expressed support for the decision to mute the word ‘Bombay’. “There is a government notification on this. Given the past controversy over the use of Bombay in films, this was unavoidable,” he said. “There are some elements that make deliberate attempts to create controversy by using Bombay keeping in mind future prospects,” he added.
In the wake of the move, netizens condemned the Censor Board, with some referring to the decision as ‘emotionless’. Leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress have targeted each other over the decision to censor the word ‘Bombay’. Mumbai has been the official name of the city of Bombay since 1995 after the nativist political party made the decision to replace the Anglicised name, which had been in place since the colonial era, reported New York Times.
But not everyone has adapted to the new name, with some preferring to use the name Bombay. While some may have habitually stuck to the original name, others continue use it to make a political statement and reject what are deemed xenophobic politics behind the change.
For all the support Joshi has received for his song and raising his voice against the CBFC, he has also received a fair share of criticism. In an interview with The Hindu, he pointed out, “People did get personal — some insulted me, my songwriting, my singing and said this was all a gimmick, but I don’t have a problem with any of that. Trolls exist and they are entitled to their opinion. I wrote the song because that was my way of expressing my feelings about something I felt very strongly about.”
The musician added that he did not aim to attract media attention and that he has no interest in politicising the issue by creating a controversy. He lamented that amid the mess, the song’s real message has been lost to a certain extent. “At the same time, the song has also inadvertently reached out to a lot of people. I hope that once they get past the word ‘Bombay’, they will actually hear the rest of the song and realise what it is about,” stated Joshi.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2015.