Is Bollywood a soft target?
What happened to the creative freedom of speech and expression? Why is Bollywood held to ransom every time due to such political stunts? “Our society is full of opposition and contradiction, so if someone shows them the mirror, then they are bound to feel offended. The mainstream Bollywood is unable to show the mirror and those who are willing to try, face various kinds of problems. We saw what happened with Udta
Punjab. Censor Board refused to give them a certificate and then the High Court had to interfere. Actually the kind of reactionary government we have, there are some groups that try to create controversy around films trying to show the truth and stop them from getting released,” says Avinash.
Talking about films becoming a soft target, filmmaker Ashoke Pandit says, “As far as films like Padmaavat are concerned, there is a political pressure. It has been happening ever since we got independence. So any political party that comes to power thinks that films should be made according to their vision. So entertainment industry has always been a soft target. For instance, in
Fanney Khan, the phrase ‘ ache din’ has nothing to do with the country. It’s an expression in the film.” Dialogue writer Ram Kumar Singh seconds this view and asks why it should matter if someone uses a tagline that was used for the elections? “Unless it’s your intellectual property, it should not matter. If it is on a public domain and a creative person uses it, then there shouldn’t be any controversy around it. But unfortunately it is happening and it’s not a good thing,” he says adding that one shouldn’t always judge a film by its trailer. “It could be in a completely different context in the film depending on where it’s used and the impact it has. But intentionally, no one should hurt anyone’s religious sentiments, in the name of freedom of speech,” he says.
However, with social media and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram seeping into the lives of people, getting offended is nothing new. But that shouldn’t lead to freedom of speech and expression being curtailed. Ashoke also states that filmmakers should not be forced to alter their content after it has been passed by CBFC. “We will make whatever we want to make, and there is a censor board which is a government organisation which takes care of it. And if we have to go by the choices of every individual, I won’t be able to write a book, I won’t be able to make music, I won’t be able to make a film, I won’t be able to do anything,” he adds.
“Our society is full of opposition and contradiction, so if someone shows them the mirror, then they are bound to feel offended.” — AVINASH DAS