“I [may] not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll protect to the death your right to say it.”
These words by Voltaire sound dystopian in today’s India. India is a very big concept. Even if we take a look closer home, we see some of the gravest digressions of this fundamental human right. (Read: the arrest of a professor of a reputed university on account of a harmless jibe at the Honourable Chief Minister). We, as Indians, take the utmost pride in deifying our cultural, ethical, religious and societal sensibilities, and any act, cartoon, film, documentary, or generally speaking, any idea, which tarnishes our image of these, is very conveniently censured and an attempt is made to mask it from the public eye.
Freedom of Speech & Expression, listed as a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution of India, is defined as ‘the right to express one’s opinion freely without any fear through oral / written / electronic/ broadcasting / press’. Clause (2) of the same Article, places several restrictions on this ‘right’, which are very conveniently cited as the reasons for banning a book, movie or documentary. The parameters by which any work is judged include ‘Decency and Morality’ (it should not “deprave and corrupt the minds which are open to such immoral influences”), ‘Security of the State’ (it should not “endanger the security of the State by crimes of violence”), ‘Public Order’ (the term ‘public order’ connotes “the sense of public peace, safety and tranquillity”) and ‘Incitement to an Offence’. Any work which breaches any of these ‘benchmarks’ and is perceived as besmirching our cultural, religious, political and moral ethos is banned.
Examples of truly great pieces of art not seeing the light of the day are galore and appear in almost all walks, but I would like to use the biggest industry in the country to put my point forward. For the uninitiated; I am referring to Bollywood. I am not a big fan of the mind-numbing pot-boilers that characterize our Hindi movie industry and which, unfortunately, have the lion’s share of the revenues generated annually. But, it would be blasphemous on my part if I say that these are the only kind of films that release every Jumma. Truly gifted directors and script-writers, though rare, do exist. But the Central Board of Film Certification acts as their ‘Achilles’ Heel’. The vision statement of the CBFC defines it to be a body which has the following as its aim: “To ensure healthy entertainment, recreation and education to the public.” The definition of ‘healthy’ however is very narrow. It excludes all those films which indulge in strong (read bold) language, suggestive (read vulgar) scenes, gender taboos, Kashmir issues, religion and basically movies which are way ahead of its time.
It thus results in a brand of Indian cinema which is deliberately kept out of our reach. There are numerous examples of such films. ‘Bandit Queen’ is a 1994-film by Shekhar Kapur, on the life of Phoolan Devi, a famous Chambal dacoit. It was banned because of its explicit sexual content, nudity and abusive language. It was basically an affront to the cinematic conservatism of the CFBC. The plain fact that it was a real-life representation of the trials and tribulations faced by the protagonist was totally ignored. Deepa Mehta is another critically-acclaimed director who suffered due to the ‘high’ standards of the Censor board. Her films, like ‘Water’ and ‘Fire’, faced severe ostracism due to its depictions of issues such as misogyny, lesbian relationships and the life of an Indian widow.
Religion has always been a touchy issue in our country and anything which deals with any aspect of it is dealt with very sensitively. It is a result of this that movies like ‘Parzania’ and ‘Firaaq’, which dealt with the Gujarat riots, received enormous backlash. Also movies such as ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ and ‘Sins’ were banned due to the simple reason that it portrayed Hindus and Christians respectively, in a ‘poor light’. It is said that there are two things which you can discuss with every Indian, two things on which every Indian has an opinion: Cricket and Politics (read Kashmir issue). Movies which have showcased the situation in Kashmir or the plight of its people have been stayed from release, as they may result in the rise of ‘untoward’ sentiments among the people.
Movies are just the tip of the iceberg. Its smaller sibling, documentaries, has received equal, if not more, flak due to its subject, portrayal, etc:-. The most prominent example is, of course, ‘India’s Daughter’. ‘India’s Daughter’ was a documentary made on the infamous 16 December 2012 Nirbhaya Delhi gang-rape case. The case was widely covered by media and the specific details gave goose bumps to all and sundry. Leslee Udwin, the director, interviewed one of the convicts, Mukesh Singh, for the purposes of her film. The accused made certain incendiary comments which raised a furore across social media and was the sole purpose of leading to the movie’s ban. The higher authorities felt that it could threaten public order and didn’t paint a very good picture of our country.
I am nowhere supporting the comments made by the concerned party when I say that the documentary should not have been banned. I feel that widespread broadcasting of the same could have sensitized the people to the kind of deranged mindset the rapists have and could have been a medium to substantially express its condemnation by the Government. It would have led the people to realise the deluded mentality of such aggressors and gone a long way in bringing about change. But, as always, it did not comply with benchmarks of our ‘pious’ authorities.
Be it ‘India’s Daughter’ or any other example I have taken above, every film, which tried to deliver a message in an unconventional fashion, has failed, due to the regulations and restraints imposed on it. Movies which could have actually helped raise awareness about prevalent social issues (misogyny, lesbianism etc.) or enlightened the public about the stories behind civil strifes, religious turmoil and social unrest, instead of being celebrated were castigated and the masses were deprived of a tremendous learning and stimulating experience. Probably I am mentioning this for the umpteenth time, but the ‘ethics’, ‘morals’ and ‘decency’ of our society spelled the downfall of path-breaking cinema.
The purpose of any work of art is to mould public perception and give public views a favourable shape. But the constraints and bans placed on truly invigorating books, movies, documentaries, cartoons etc led to a blatant defeat of their very purpose. Their real message was not taken cognizance of, and subjective issues such as ‘vulgarity, ‘obscenity’ and ‘political sensitivity’ were allowed to wreak havoc. I firmly believe that the Indian audience is fast attaining a maturity level where it can easily ‘digest’ such matter. We should be allowed to choose what we want to and not want to see. What conforms to our personal moral and ethical standards should be a decision taken by the self and not by someone on behalf of us.
There is no compulsion to watch or read anything which hurts our sensibilities. It should be a matter of personal choice. The impetus which an unregulated and unbiased flow of information will provide will prove for itself the need for its existence. An irrevocable and unchallenged Freedom of Speech and Expression will give us the required push to help us achieve and consolidate the post pubescent stage, I believe, our society is fast moving towards. However, the current practices are retarding this very growth and are arresting the momentum which we all desperately need to become more sensitive, more sensible, more understanding and a much better lot.
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