The unkindest cuts of all

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), that received flak a couple of months ago for refusing to certify Lipstick Under My Burkha for being too ‘lady-oriented’, has done a repeat performance by ordering as many as 48 cuts to the film Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, despite certifying it with an ‘A’ certificate. Not just that, Kiran Shroff, one of the producers of the film, claimed at a press conference that the Board was astonished that she, as a woman, could have produced a film filled with expletives and explicit scenes and, worse, that the members ridiculed her outfit as being too masculine. Talking to DTNext in between the promotions of her film in Jaipur, Kiran says, “The problem is that we have people in the CBFC who have no idea about films. How can people who judge me by the clothes I wear be capable of deciding what the audience can watch and cannot? These are the same people who allow rape scenes to be screened. But somehow, they have a problem with love-making.” Apart from the uproar on social media, the incident had many noted filmmakers including Abhishek Chaubey, Rahul Dholakia and Madhu Mantena, condemning the actions of the CBFC. The Board on its part justified the cuts saying “kids also watch an ‘A’ rated film”. “Why not give a U/A certificate so that I can chop those 48 scenes from my films and allow kids to watch. It is unfair to certify my film A and still demand me to butcher the film,” rues Kiran. 

The other producer and editor of the film Ashmith Kunder, who will have to chop 48 scenes if the CBFC sticks to its stand, says, “At a time when smart phones are available at throw-away prices, and internet is available for free on some networks, the best and worst of entertainment is just a click away. This includes classic cinema to pornography. In this scenario, for the CBFC to decide what the audience can watch even after paying exorbitant ticket prices beats all possible logic. This can only lead to suppression of experimenting in making new kind of cinema. This kind of extreme censorship doesn’t really bode well for the Indian entertainment industry.” 

Reacting to the incident, actor-producer Kutty Padmini says, “CBFC has always judged and certified films and directors based on their mood on that particular day. This has to stop. And as for its justification that even kids watch A-rated films these days, why only target films? Why not try and tackle pornographic material available on the internet. Also, while the industry is witnessing a noticeably positive change in the way women are portrayed, it is sad that the Board time and again picks at women-centric films and narratives that have women exploring their 

sexuality. More so, this is even more condemnable considering a woman heads the information and broadcasting ministry now. Some action must be taken.” 

However, filmmaker Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has a different point of view. She says that physical intimacy, one of the main reasons the cuts were suggested for Kiran’s films, can also be conveyed without making the scenes explicit. “I have no clue under what context did CBFC officials made that comment. But, films, being a mass medium, have a big impact on people. Filmmakers have to keep in mind. I watched Lipstick Under Burkha with my husband and my 22-year-old daughter. I thought the level of obscenity shown in the film was not needed. Take K Balachander for example. He made heavy scripts without explicit scenes. That is how our audience have always accepted films,” she says.