Anurag Kashyap, Hansal Mehta, Vetri Maaran, Nandita Das, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, and Dibakar Banerjee are among the actors and filmmakers who have written an open letter to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry opposing the government’s proposed amendments to the 1952 Cinematograph Act.
The Centre posted the drafted Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 earlier this month for public comment until July 2. The latest proposal would change the Cinematograph Act of 1952 to grant the Centre “revisionary powers” and allow it to “re-examine” films that have already been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
On Sunday evening, Eeb Allay Ooo! renowned filmmaker Prateek Vats and documentary filmmaker Shilpi Gulati, along with an academician and a lawyer, produced an online letter with over 1400 signatories from various walks of life.
The letter said, “As another blow to the film fraternity, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed new amendments to the Cinematograph Act under which the Central Government would have the power to revoke or recall certification of films which have already been cleared by the Censor Board. Undermining the sovereignty of the Censor Board and the Supreme Court, this provision will effectively give the Central Government supreme power over cinema exhibition in the country potentially endangering freedom of expression and democratic dissent.”
“This will also render filmmakers powerless at the hands of the state as more vulnerable to threats, vandalism and intimidation of mob censors. The proposal to amend the Cinematograph Act comes two month Centre dissolved the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) in April 2021.…,” read the excerpt.
The letter was written just days after filmmaker-musician Vishal Bhardwaj used Twitter to urge his peers in the industry to oppose the move. The letter will almost certainly be signed by the director. Prateek Vats, in an interview with indianexpress.com, said it’s critical for artists to “unequivocally” express their worries and suggestions about a proposal that would limit filmmakers’ creative freedom.
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“Our suggestions are based on two previous committees’ recommendations, Shyam Benegal and Justice Mudgal. They had given a set of recommendations already. They are saying they are incorporating that, but they are not actually. We as a fraternity have put out our suggestions, concerns. If they want to revamp the act, it’s nice. The point should be that the independence of the censoring process, the transparency should be reiterated,” the director said.
What a strange proposition to amend the law on film certification. What is the meaning of a censor certificate if the film can be reexamined on anybody's complaint? The ministry has asked the public for its opinion.
— Vishal Bhardwaj (@VishalBhardwaj) June 25, 2021
Cinema, media and the literati cannot afford to be the three iconic monkeys of India. Seeing, hearing and speaking of impending evil is the only medication against attempts to injure and debilitate democracy. (1/2)
— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) June 28, 2021
Vikramaditya Motwane, Abhishek Chaubey, Sheeba Chaddha, and Rohini Hattangadi are among the other signatories to the letter. The following is a list of five ideas for the government included in the letter:
1.The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 must clearly define the role of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as a body which certities film content for public exhibition and not as a censoring body.
2. We recommend that the amendments giving powers to the Central Government to revoke a film certificate must be dropped. We agree with the spirit of the Supreme Court decision which held that this would violate the separation of powers in our democracy
3. While we agree that film piracy poses real challenges to filmmakers, the proposed amendments do not address this concern effectively merely by introducing a penal provision. If introduced, sufficient exceptions on fair use, de minimis use and derivative work specific to films must be created. Systemic solutions to genuinely counter piracy must be introduced.
4. We recommend that the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) be reinstated, as it enables affordable and accessible remedies to filmmakers.
5. The Cinematograph Act must be amended to include a clear definition of public’ exhibition and bring under its purview only commercial films with substantive capital investment and revenue mo
