ARE SENTIMENTS LIKE EGGSHELLS?
Bollywood is astonished by the frequency with which films are being accused of ‘hurting religious sentiments’
Nothing gets hurt as fast and as frequently in India as religious sentiments. Cinema, being a mass medium, naturally ends up stomping on those fragile sentiments, making them crack like eggshells, even when filmmakers don’t intend to.
In the long line of Bollywood films that have unwittingly “hurt religious sentiments”, the latest are Behen Hogi Teri (starring Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Haasan) and the animation film Hanuman Da’Damdaar (voiceover by Salman Khan).
The first film outraged an upright citizen for showing the lead character dressed as Lord Shiva and sitting on a mobike, even though the character’s job is to dress up as Shiva. A police complaint was filed and arrest warrants were issued.
In the second case, the “trendy language” used by Hanuman was considered objectionable by Pahlaj Nihalani, chairman of the Central Board Of Film Certification informally also known as the Censor Board. Several cuts later, the film could get a U/A certificate. Ruchi Narain, director of Hanuman Da’Damdaar, points out, “Technically, it’s not the censor board, which it has become; it’s supposed to be the certification board.”
Amul Vikas Mohan, one of the three co-producers of Behen Hogi Teri, says that it was really strange when his partner, producer Tony D’souza, and director Ajay K Pannalal got arrested. “I feel India’s favourite pastime is to get offended. People get offended about anything and everything,” he says. “But we have to live with it,” he adds.
Actor Mandira Bedi, who once had a criminal case filed against her for getting tattoos that were Sikh religious symbols, says, “I’ve been the target of all this, so I know how it feels. Why should filmmakers not be able to tell the stories they want to tell?”
Citing examples of similar outrage abroad, trade analyst Omar Qureshi feels, “The line between ‘cinematic liberty’ and ‘hurting sentiments’ shouldn’t blur but it shouldn’t damage anyone either.”
I don’t think it’s the audience that’s the problem… Some kind of a fear factor is being created about what can or can’t be shown. RUCHI NARAIN, FILM-MAKER
India is very sensitive about a lot of things, but I really feel one needs to calm down. MANDIRA BEDI, ACTOR