Mumbai, March 21: Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj ‘s unabashed use of abuses and rustic lingo in his films has always added to the power of his cinema.
National Award winning director Vishal Bhardwaj has reacted strongly to diktats on film content, saying that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is behaving like the Taliban and that the body should be “chopped off”.
In an interview with IANS, the multi-talented Bhardwaj – a writer, singer, composer, director and producer – spoke uninhibitedly about the curb on filmmakers’ creativity.
The debate on censorship guidelines has been on for a long time, but it was a list of cuss words to be banned from films – as suggested by the CBFC under filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani’s chairmanship – that added fuel to the fire.
Bhardwaj says that while Indian films are “moving towards international recognition”, the government should exercise a limit on the CBFC’s power to curb the “art form” that is cinema.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Do you feel that Indian cinema is getting recognised globally?
A: Yes, we are really moving towards international recognition… We are in the best of times at the moment. The line between commercial and arthouse cinema has blurred. Today we have films like ‘The Lunchbox’ and ‘Badlapur’ doing such great business… we have audience for each and every kind of film.
Q: But hasn’t Bollywood become stereotypical in its scripts?
A: The whole cinema should not be called stereotyped. Stories of films like ‘Badlapur’ and ‘Haider’ are totally different and unique from what we have seen till now. In fact, we are breaking the stereotype image of our cinema.
But, if we talk about commercial cinema, that will remain stereotyped.
Q: The Indian entertainment industry has been facing a backlash for its content — whether it’s the AIB Roast, Aamir Khan’s ‘PK’ controversy or the CBFC’s announcement regarding the words that should be omitted from films. Don’t you feel Indian filmmakers are being dominated?
A: It’s really sad what is happening right now. The Censor Board is behaving like a Taliban. They should be censored and chopped. They censor our films, they should be chopped first. They should know their limits…it’s (film is) an art form.
