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Tag: CBFC

  • Filmmakers resent CBFC decision to stop re-certifying adult films for TV

    Filmmakers resent CBFC decision to stop re-certifying adult films for TV

    MUMBAI: In a move that threatens to derail several top-of-the-line production houses which make a chunk of their profits from the advance sale of satellite rights, the Central Board of Film Certification has decided to stop re-certifying A-rated films for television.

    According to sources, the decision has been taken in accordance with the provisions of the 1952 Cinematograph Act.

    The move is likely to severely affect advance sale of satellite rights on part of the producers or production houses.

    A number of big-ticket films, including Aamir Khan‘s home production Delhi Belly, Anurag Kashyap‘s Gangs of Wasseypur (parts 1 and 2) and Vikram Bhatt‘s Hate Story, are waiting for CBFC clearance. The satellite rights of many of these films have already been sold to broadcasters amounting to multiple crores.

    For the last several years, the CBFC has been modifying A-rated films, both from India and abroad, through a ‘Form of Conversion‘ that was introduced at the board-level to facilitate the TV telecast of certain movies.

    All this began last month when objections were raised with the manner in which The Dirty Picture had been modified for TV. The CBFC then told the film producers that they should specify to TV channels that all modified ‘A’ rated films should only be shown only after 11 pm.

    Though this suggestion was accepted for The Dirty Picture, Vishesh Film, the producer of Jannat 2, challenged the The Dirty Picture‘s guideline in the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) fearing a loss of revenue in satellite rights.

    The Dirty Picture aired on 26 August on Sony Entertainment Television.

    The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, while ruling in favour of the production house‘s favour, had told CBFC that it could not decide the slotting of films on TV. It was then that matters came to a head.

    Airing his discontentment, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt groused, "This is a very serious matter. Now, there is no other way but to lock horns with the government. We might require judicial intervention failing which the entire economics of the film industry will go haywire."

    Recent films with an ‘A’ certificate include films like Sahib Bibi Aur Gangster, Shor in the City, Shaitan, Ishqiya, Desi Boys, Love Sex Dhoka, Jism 2, Murder 2, and Ragini MMS.

  • Filmmakers release adult content online to beat censorship

    MUMBAI: Disgusted by the Censor Board CBFC), which often plays a spoilsport, filmmakers have gone ahead and started releasing unedited adult content of their films on the online medium.

    Recently, when the trailer of Ekta Kapoor‘s upcoming film Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum was allowed in theatres and TV after suggested cuts by the CBFC, the filmmaker released the uncut version for online viewers.

    And to her surprise, when the uncensored promo of the film was released on YouTube, it was a hit and has been getting innumerable hits (522,500 hits till recently).

    There is another such case. Pooja Bhatt decided to promote the songs of Jism 2 with adult content on internet, rather than scissoring out so-called objectionable scenes of the film.

    Of the six songs she has shot for the film, the director chose to showcase only three songs with asexual content on TV. The rest have gone online. It is a conscious decision she had to make.

    “We have six songs in Jism 2. Only three cater to a universal audience without losing their essence. The other three cannot be made to seem asexual! Hence, we will only submit to the censor board and plug on TV those songs of ‘Jism 2‘ what we feel is appropriate for a family audience,” Pooja wrote on her Twitter page.

    The actress-turned-director is happy that viewers get a chance to choose what to watch without a “roadblock” by the censor board.

    “The three songs that cater to the average thinking, discerning and passionates may be viewed freely and by choice across the internet. With their bold steps, the two ladies join Vidya Balan to make the year 2012 a woman-centric year,” Pooja said.

  • HC asks Jannat 2 producers to deposit Rs 1 mn in court

    HC asks Jannat 2 producers to deposit Rs 1 mn in court

    MUMBAI: The Bombay HC has asked producers Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt of Vishesh Films to deposit Rs 1 million in the court if they want to go ahead with the TV release of their film Jannat 2.

    The HC also asked the producers to submit the DVD of their film to enable the judges to see for themselves whether there were any similarities between the film and a script by petitioner Kapil Chopra, which he claimed he had sent to the film‘s director Kunal Deshmukh and his 150-page script registered in 2008 by the Film Writers Association.

    Commenting on Chopra‘s lawyer Rashmin Khandekar‘s contention that the script writer ought to be compensated for his efforts, the producers have denied there was any similarity between the two scripts.

    When asked to comment on the matter, he promptly replied, “I can‘t say anything on this as the matter is subjudice.”

    Meanwhile, the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) has finally given a clean chit to The Dirty Picture for telecast after nearly 100 cuts. With this, the controversial national award winning film, which had been banned from being screened on TV before 11 pm, has now got the nod for general viewing.

    Sony TV had asked producers Balaji Motion Pictures to go for more cuts to ensure that the film could be telecast during prime time.

  • Nomads put Ajintha release in limbo

    Nomads put Ajintha release in limbo

    MUMBAI: Days before Nitin Chandrakant Desai‘s film Ajintha is set to release, a group of nomads (banjaras) have protested against the contents of the film and have demanded that it not be cleared for release. This is the reason why the premiere of the film could not be held on Wednesday as scheduled.

    The protestors have objected to the leading lady‘s dressing ways and have vehemently said that adivasis do not move around semi-naked as is shown in the film. They have also objected to a kissing scene just in front of a statue of Lord Buddha that they say "doesn‘t go well". In short, the nomads say that the film depicts their community in ‘poor light‘.

    "The film does not show the real culture of banjaras," said Sanjiv Kumar Rathod who led the demonstration.

    Rathod, who is incidentally a member of the CBFC advisory panel for Mumbai region, said the Board officials have assured them that their demands would be heard before the film is cleared.

    The film, to be released on 11 May, relates the true love story of Major Robert Gill and a tribal Banjara girl named Paro. The film is set against the backdrop of the Ajanta caves.

    A decision is awaited today.

  • Govt cracks whip on use of tobacco products in media

    Govt cracks whip on use of tobacco products in media

    NEW DELHI: The Government has directed that all films and television programmes made before 14 November 2011 and showing consumption of tobacco or liquor will have to mandatorily display anti-tobacco health spots or messages of minimum thirty seconds duration each at the beginning and middle of the film or the television programme.


    There will also be an anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent scroll at the bottom of the screen during the period of such display. Such programmes will be telecast at timings that are likely to have least viewership of minors.


    This has been stated in the rules for Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) [second amendment rules] 2011.


    These rules have been implemented from 14 November, 2011. The rules have been notified after consultation and taking into account the views of Information and Broadcasting Ministry to make it more practical and implementable.


    For new films and TV programmes, the producers will have to give “a strong editorial justification” for display of tobacco products or their use to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) along with UA certification.


    The producers will also have to run a disclaimer of twenty seconds duration by the concerned actor regarding the ill effects of the use of such products, in the beginning and middle of the film or television programme; anti-tobacco health spots or messages, of minimum thirty-second duration each at the beginning and middle of the film or the television programme; and anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent scroll at the bottom of the screen during the period of such display.


    The CBFC will also be asked to have a representative of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry.


    In order to restrict blatant display of tobacco brands in old films and TV programmes these rules make it mandatory to crop /mask display of brands of cigarettes or any other tobacco product or any forms of product placement, close-ups and for new films and TV programmes such scenes shall be edited/blurred by the producer prior to screening. The ban on display of tobacco products or its usage also extends to promotional materials and posters as well.


    The Ministry in a press note said for the tobacco industry, films provide an opportunity to convert a deadly product into a status symbol or token of independence. The role of movies as vehicles for promoting tobacco use has become even more important as other forms of tobacco promotion are constrained. This investment is part of a wider and more complex marketing strategy to support pro-tobacco social norms, including product placement in mass media, sponsorship and other modalities.
     
    There are experimental and observational studies to show that tobacco use in films influences young people’s beliefs about social norms for smoking, as well as their beliefs about the function and consequences of smoking and their personal intention to use tobacco. Consistent with the findings of these epidemiological studies, a number of experimental studies have confirmed that seeing tobacco usage in film shifts attitude in favour of tobacco use, and that an anti-tobacco advertisement shown prior to a film with tobacco use blunts the effect of smoking imagery.


    The Government had enacted the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, in 2003 with the objective to protect the present and future generation from the adverse harm effects of tobacco usage and second hand smoke, through imposing progressive restriction.


    According to Section 5 of the Act, all forms of advertisement (direct, indirect/ surrogate) promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products is prohibited. However, it was observed that when the advertising, promotion and sponsorship ban went into force, tobacco companies developed new marketing strategies to circumvent the law through depiction of tobacco use scenes and brand placement of tobacco products in movies.

  • Andhra HC asks Censor Board to clarify stand on The Dirty Picture

    Andhra HC asks Censor Board to clarify stand on The Dirty Picture

    MUMBAI: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to come out with its stand regarding stalling the release of Ekta Kapoor‘s The Dirty Picture.

    Vadlapatla Naga Prasad, the younger brother of the late actress, has asked the censor board not to clear the Vidya Balan-starrer for release. Prasad has claimed Smitha‘s character, played by Vidya, portrays her as a woman of loose morals through indiscriminate sex scenes.

    Prasad has charged the filmmakers with filling the film with unrealistic and obscene scenes rather than trying to portray the true picture. He said that the filmmakers hadn‘t even spoken to him to get to know the real Smitha. Prasad insisted that her private life was different from what it is being portrayed in the film.

    Although Prasad claimed that he had served a notice to the Censor Board asking it not to certify the film at all, B Mayur Reddy, counsel for the Censor Board told the Court that they had not received any such notice.

    Justice Vilas V Afzalpurkar of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, while asking the petitioner to serve a copy to the counsel, directed the Censor Board to clear its stand within a week and deferred the case to coming Wednesday.

    The Dirty Picture, produced by Balaji Telefilms and directed by Milan Luthria stars Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor among others, and is scheduled for release on 2 December.

  • Govt tightens screws on smoking scenes in films, TV

    Govt tightens screws on smoking scenes in films, TV

    NEW DELHI: The Government has tightened the screws for smoking scenes in films and television. It has directed that all films and television programmes made before 14 November 2011 and showing consumption of tobacco or liquor will have to mandatorily display anti-tobacco health spots or messages of minimum 30 seconds duration each at the beginning and middle of the film or the television programme.

    There will also be an anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent scroll at the bottom of the screen during the period of such display. Such programmes will be telecast at timings that are likely to have least viewership of minors.

    This has been stated in the rules for Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) [second amendment rules] 2011.

    These rules will be implemented from 14 November 2011. The rules have been notified after consultation and taking into account the views of Information and Broadcasting Ministry to make it more practical and implementable.

    For new films and TV programmes, the producers will have to give‘a strong editorial justification’ for display of tobacco products or their use to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) along with UA certification.

    The producers will also have to run a disclaimer of 20 seconds duration by the concerned actor regarding the ill effects of the use of such products, in the beginning and middle of the film or television programme; anti-tobacco health spots or messages, of minimum 30-second duration each at the beginning and middle of the film or the television programme; and anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent scroll at the bottom of the screen during the period of such display.

    The CBFC will be asked to have a representative of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

    In order to restrict blatant display of tobacco brands in old films and TV programmes, these rules make it mandatory to crop /mask display of brands of cigarettes or any other tobacco product or any forms of product placement, close-ups and for new films and TV programmes such scenes shall be edited/blurred by the producer prior to screening. The ban on display of tobacco products or its usage also extends to promotional materials and posters as well.

    The Ministry said for the tobacco industry, films provide an opportunity to convert a deadly product into a status symbol or token of independence. The role of movies as vehicles for promoting tobacco use has become even more important as other forms of tobacco promotion are constrained. This investment is part of a wider and more complex marketing strategy to support pro-tobacco social norms, including product placement in mass media, sponsorship and other modalities.

    There are experimental and observational studies to show that tobacco use in films influences young people‘s beliefs about social norms for smoking, as well as their beliefs about the function and consequences of smoking and their personal intention to use tobacco. Consistent with the findings of these epidemiological studies, a number of experimental studies have confirmed that seeing tobacco usage in film shifts attitude in favour of tobacco use , and that an anti-tobacco advertisement shown prior to a film with tobacco use blunts the effect of smoking imagery.

    The Government had enacted the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, in 2003 with the objective to protect the present and future generation from the adverse harm effects of tobacco usage and second hand smoke, through imposing progressive restriction.

    According to Section 5 of the Act, all forms of advertisement (direct, indirect/surrogate) promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products is prohibited. However, it was observed that when the advertising, promotion and sponsorship ban went into force, tobacco companies developed new marketing strategies to circumvent the law through depiction of tobacco use scenes and brand placement of tobacco products in movies.

    In 2003, WHO conducted a study on the portrayal of tobacco in Indian cinema and its impact on youth audience before the passage of the COTPA. A second study a year later titled”Tobacco In Movies and Impact on Youth” documented changes in Bollywood‘s tobacco imagery. This research found the following:

     

    Key Findings WHO study (2003) Study by Burning BrainSociety supported by WHO/MoH (2005)
    Total tobacco containing movies 76% 89%
    Lead character smoking 40.9% 75.5%
    Tobacco brands/product placement and visibility 15.7% 41.0%

     

  • CBFC greenlights Mausam release

    CBFC greenlights Mausam release

    MUMBAI: Bypassing the IAF’s demands for its clearance of the Pankaj Kapoor directed film, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has gone ahead and green lighted the release of Mausam. The film will be issued a censor certificate regardless of IAF’s objections on Tuesday.


    Justified Censor Board CEO Pankaja Thakur, “The CBFC has nothing to do with the so-called NOC. We’re given to understand that the Air Force wants certain cuts in the film as per an MOU signed between them and the producer. The CBFC was not a party to any such agreement.”


     
    Last week, the IAF had raised objection to an action scene in the film and held back the No Objection Certificate (NOC) until the changes are made

  • SC lifts Aarakshan ban in UP

    SC lifts Aarakshan ban in UP

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today declared illegal the ban imposed by Mayawati government on the release of producer-director Prakash Jha‘s film, Aarakshan.


    The apex court, thus, cleared the decks for the release of the film in Uttar Pradesh.


    Jha had challenged the ban imposed on the release of the film by Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab government.


    The Punjab and Andhra Pradesh governments, however, lifted the ban after the director agreed to remove the objectionable portions. But the Mayawati government refused to lift the ban on the ground that it may create law and order problems.


    A bench comprising Justices MK Sharma and Anil R Dave quashed the UP government order banning the release of the movie for two months.


    The movie has already been released in other parts of the country on 12 August.


    Jha in his petition had contended that the ban order violated his fundamental right to Freedom of Speech and Expression guaranteed under Article 19(i)(a) of the Constitution of India.


    Earlier, the Mumbai and Patna High Courts refused to interfere with the release of the film, the latter observing that there had been no law and order problem since its release.


    The Madras High Court had stayed the release of the film but changed its order after Jha convinced the court that the issue related to some extraneous payment not linked to this film.


    Earlier this week when the apex court issued notice to the UP Government on the petition, the bench also asked the Centre to give its reaction in view of the contentions by Jha that the state governments cannot override the permission granted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to exhibit a movie.


    The petition contended the decision by the governments of UP, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh was due to political reasons and it violates the fundamental right to speech and expression.


    In the petition, Jha said the examining committee of Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC), which cleared the film for exhibition, comprised members drawn from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and other backward castes and the ban by the three states is “biased and arbitrary”.


    Seeking a stay on ban orders, Jha had cited various apex court judgments holding that “open criticism of the government policies and operations is not a ground for imposing restriction on expression views even in the form of films.”


    He said he has spent Rs 650 million towards production, publicity and marketing of the film and third party rights for distribution and exploitation of the film have also been created.


    Aarakshan, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Prateik Babbar and Hema Malini (in a guest role), deals with the sensitive issue of commercialisation of education in the light of caste-based reservations in the education system.

  • B’cast Bill: Film censor board chief seeks clarifications

    B’cast Bill: Film censor board chief seeks clarifications

    NEW DELHI: Indian film censor board chief and veteran actress Sharmila Tagore today exhorted the government to remove overlaps in the functioning of censor board and a proposed broadcast regulator.

    She also called for “transparency” while forming the proposed Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (Brai).

    “There has to be some sort of uniformity at some level… and identify where there are some overlaps,” Tagore, chairperson of the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC), was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying.

    She, along with some other government officials and industry representatives were participating in a day-long seminar on the draft ‘Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill – 2006’, which was organized by industry chamber Assocham.

    Tagore’s apprehensions stems from the fact that the censor board and the proposed Brai might end up doing similar works like certifying content for television channels.

    In the absence of a regulatory body, the government has mandated that only `U’ (or for unrestricted viewing) censor certified films promos, music videos and songs should be aired on TV music channels.

    Information and broadcasting secretary S K Arora assured the industry gathering that the government was open to suggestions and comments on the proposed Brai and the Bill.

    “The government is open to suggestions and can incorporate fresh ideas and issues we may have omitted (earlier in a draft that was readied for the Cabinet),” he said.