Special: Certification guidelines draw flak

Thiruvananthapuram: The panellists of IFFK's P.K. Nair Symposium on Censorship strongly criticised Shyam Benegal Committee’s film certification guidelines, especially as the guidelines were still within the ambit of the Cinematograph Act.

But the chief architect of the new recommendations, Benegal himself, believes that the act needs to be revoked. After the symposium, when DC asked whether it needs to be repealed, he said, “Definitely, if it isn’t (repealed), we will only be doing retouching work,” he said.

Section 5 of the Act gives extraordinary jurisdiction to film certification bodies, according to critic V.C. Harris. “Not even the Supreme Court has extraordinary jurisdiction,” he said.

The Act is not just against the Article 19 which grants Freedom of Speech, but Article 21, the Right to Life and Livelihood, according to documentary filmmaker Rakesh Sharma. “If I can’t sell my DVDs it would affect my livelihood,” he said. His documentary ‘Final Solution’, about the Gujarat riots, was banned for months in 2004.

Right through the symposium, Shyam Benegal held that the word ‘censorship’ had no relevance. “The word censorship has got stuck in our heads, even though there is no such thing as a censor board. It is Central Board of Film Ceritification and Film Certifcation suggests classifying films,” he said.

One of the most discussed recommendations was the division of Adult Category into A and A-C. The A-C  sub-category (films suitable for adults-only, with caution). The report says that the subdivision will help “warn audiences of the explicit depiction of various issues, thus enablinq them to make a considered choice.”

Filmmaker Jayan Cherian, whose film ‘Ka Bodyscapes’ had been banned from exhibition until IFFK, mocked at the provision. “If my film gets an A-C certification, it will probably be shown in a jungle, after 11 pm,” he said.

One of the reasons CBFC had imposed the ban on the film was, that it showed menstrual blood, sanitary napkins and posting pictures of menstrual blood stains in napkins. This according to CBFC is against a guideline which provides that “films for public exhibition shall not contain scenes degrading or denigrating women in any manner.”

In response, Benegal said that guidelines are not rules. “These are recommendations which talk about the suitability to a particular kind of audience,” he said.

The recommendations might just be approved by the Central Government, according to Filmmaker B. Unnikrishnan.

Recalling his meeting with I&B Minister Venkaiah Naidu, he said, “The minister said he is willing to implement it (the recommendations) verbatim. Unwitttingly, you have given some very postitive signals to the present government. Judging by your history, that is not a very happy situation for you. You have to re-read the report.”

The report is now in the public domain. The I&B Ministry is assessing the response to the report.