By Arpita Singh
Yeh sanskari picture kya hoti hain?
Yet another movie has to face the wrath of Central Board of Film Certification. It has become some sort of trend, not certifying movies. CBFC denied certifying Jayan K Cherians’s Malayalam movie Ka Bodyscapes for ‘glorifying homosexuality’. Recently Lipstick Under My Burka was also denied certification for being women oriented.
The Trend of Denial…
CBFC has been in denial since a very long time. Films like Water, Kamasutra, Black Friday and an endless list of movies, were banned because of being not so sanskari. The problem is CBFC is more of a protector of Indian culture and religions than being a body which certifies movies. CBFC is a body for censorship and classification and falls under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. And more than being known for certifying movies, it is renowned for its methodical ways of chocking talent.
Talking of hypocrisy, while the CBFC wants us to watch movies like Grand masti, Mastizaade and pave way for songs like kundi mat khadkao raja seedha andar aao raja, which doesn’t make any sense, but it does not want us to watch movies which actually makes sense.
Are They Afraid of Embracing the Reality?
Denying certification to films won’t eradicate homosexuals or masturbating women or any of the other horrendous reasons given by CBFC. Yes homosexuals exists and women masturbate. Negating their existence is nothing but our insecurity to deal with them. What is often cited is the law and order problem which is again another lame excuse which definitely aggravates moral policing.
‘Freedom of speech’ isn’t a Reality Anymore.
Supposedly there is a thin line between appropriateness and inappropriateness of a film, what is appropriate for one person can be inappropriate for other but that doesn’t mean banning a movie is just. Art is sadly under the radar of politics which is very threatening for the beauty of art. Not depicting homosexuality or any ‘harsh’ reality of the society will not change the existence of any of them.
Freedom of speech is under threat and art being the center of all. Since when glorifying a human body became so obscene, we have seen heroines bathing under the waterfall. Homosexuality is particularly targeted in this very denial which throws light on the unreadiness of the government and not the society. The film is accused of holding obscenity and vulgarity demeaning Hindu religion which can cause law and order. But wait, what about those who won’t get affected.
Freedom of speech is under threat and art being the center of all. Since when glorifying a human body became so obscene, we have seen heroines bathing under the waterfall. Homosexuality is particularly targeted in this very denial which throws light on the unreadiness of the government and not the society. The film is accused of holding obscenity and vulgarity demeaning Hindu religion which can cause law and order. But wait, what about those who won’t get affected.
Let’s Talk about It..
Let’s talk about our insecurities, be it homosexuality or masturbating and end the fear. Let’s talk about how important it is to acknowledge the reality and to embrace it. Thousands of people hide away from their sexual orientation because of our ignorance and live life of a liar battling with their own psyche, living with a fear of rejection.
Since we are a country with section 377, the government needs to acknowledge the issue and stop creating a fear of homosexuality and change the existing law so that people can come out with their reality without any fear of denial.
Different sexual orientation requires acknowledgment and by this, I mean more than just approval. Movies like Ka Bodyscapes can also come with a caution of inappropriate content if they like, but barring the movie from running anywhere is an unsatisfactory and completely untrue judgement declaring that the content attracts no audience at all.
Image sources: Google.
Read more:
http://edtimes.in/2017/03/corporal-punishment-2/
