The new Cinematograph bill is promising albeit a few loopholes
For sometime now, freedom of speech and expression, in Indian context, is lynching perilously between self proclaimed social vigilante groups and the decades-old archaic laws! Whether it is Advani’s comment on Jinnah, or southern actress Khuboo’s comment on pre-marital aff airs or for that matter whether it is Shahrukh supporting Pakistani players for the IPL — all have faced a similar fate with variable magnitude! Particularly in the context on Indian cinema attacks on movie halls and hue and cry over censorship regarding movies has become an oft repeated political affair. Nothing much has been done with respect to the overbearing moral policing but it seems that the new Cinematograph Bill 2010 prepared by the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry is making an attempt to safeguards against such exploits.
When it comes to motion picture ratings system, this new Bill altogether sets a new standard. Being in lines with the American norm, the new bill would allow the movies to get certified under five different categories (U, S, 12+, 15+ and A) instead of currently used three basic categories. This would eventually allow the movie makers to filter the audience better and more effectively as per the demands of the script and the story-line, but then, unlike international practiced norms, there is no rating for movies that can be/should be watched under parental guidance (the PG and PG 13 rating category). This blatantly overlooks various global studies that indicate ill-effect of violence and explicit message in movies on children. However, in India, the problem is much more complex. It has been widely observed that minors easily purchase tickets and watch movies rated as “A”, even in high end branded multiplexes. This Cinematograph Bill, which on one hands aims at better filtration of audience and stringent and effective censor rating, surprisingly does not talk about any such deterrents that would ensure movie screeners to put checks and balances on the incoming demographic of the audience. It’s rare that a movie hall asks for any identity documents from an audience in case of restricted movies, and allow all age-group of audience to enter the hall.
Even if implemented effectively, this Bill would deny access to large part of audience from watching restricted movies. This would invariably act as a economic deterrent for both producers and exhibiters, since such genre of movies would call for restricted audience. Thus, such restrictions would create an enabling environment for the ghost called piracy to thrive. The demand for pirated and uncensored version of such movies is quite high in the region. For the uninitiated, India is currently juggling with piracy menace that is estimated to be at a tune of Rs 1000 crore (sales of illegitimate DVDs is rising roughly by up to 2 per cent every year)!
All in all, the Bill looks quite promising at the first look. The new grading system is quite in sync with new movie habits of young India. But the slot where the Bill scores low is at fighting piracy and legal clauses for movie screeners. From encouraging self-censorship, to streamlining procedures for movie release, to putting in place agencies to keep an eye on films being screened at theatres, is what the Bill needs further to ponder upon. Given the fact that this Bill is to undergo several more modification, it would be quite appreciative if the bill tries to figure out solutions to plug in the current loopholes. Extending the thought, the Bill should focus on solving dual whine: one being the freedom of a filmmaker and the other being the options for the movie lovers.
When it comes to motion picture ratings system, this new Bill altogether sets a new standard. Being in lines with the American norm, the new bill would allow the movies to get certified under five different categories (U, S, 12+, 15+ and A) instead of currently used three basic categories. This would eventually allow the movie makers to filter the audience better and more effectively as per the demands of the script and the story-line, but then, unlike international practiced norms, there is no rating for movies that can be/should be watched under parental guidance (the PG and PG 13 rating category). This blatantly overlooks various global studies that indicate ill-effect of violence and explicit message in movies on children. However, in India, the problem is much more complex. It has been widely observed that minors easily purchase tickets and watch movies rated as “A”, even in high end branded multiplexes. This Cinematograph Bill, which on one hands aims at better filtration of audience and stringent and effective censor rating, surprisingly does not talk about any such deterrents that would ensure movie screeners to put checks and balances on the incoming demographic of the audience. It’s rare that a movie hall asks for any identity documents from an audience in case of restricted movies, and allow all age-group of audience to enter the hall.
Even if implemented effectively, this Bill would deny access to large part of audience from watching restricted movies. This would invariably act as a economic deterrent for both producers and exhibiters, since such genre of movies would call for restricted audience. Thus, such restrictions would create an enabling environment for the ghost called piracy to thrive. The demand for pirated and uncensored version of such movies is quite high in the region. For the uninitiated, India is currently juggling with piracy menace that is estimated to be at a tune of Rs 1000 crore (sales of illegitimate DVDs is rising roughly by up to 2 per cent every year)!
All in all, the Bill looks quite promising at the first look. The new grading system is quite in sync with new movie habits of young India. But the slot where the Bill scores low is at fighting piracy and legal clauses for movie screeners. From encouraging self-censorship, to streamlining procedures for movie release, to putting in place agencies to keep an eye on films being screened at theatres, is what the Bill needs further to ponder upon. Given the fact that this Bill is to undergo several more modification, it would be quite appreciative if the bill tries to figure out solutions to plug in the current loopholes. Extending the thought, the Bill should focus on solving dual whine: one being the freedom of a filmmaker and the other being the options for the movie lovers.
"Even if implemented effectively," DONT U THINK SIR THIS IS A VERY BIG ASSUMPTION TO MAKE....IN INDIA AROUND 97.3% OF LAWS FAIL BECAUSE OF THIS PART.....SO IF THE BILL WOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO IMPROVE THIS IT WOULD SURELY HAVE BEEN GREAT
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