Cinematograph Bill that empowers Centre with final say on films gets industry's cut

New Delhi: After the union government invited comments from the public on the draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021, many industry veterans called it "absurd and unconstitutional".

The new Cinematograph Bill makes provision for the government to ask for recertification of movies that are already certified. Anyone can file a complaint against movies and the union government will have the power to take action after considering the complaint.

Tamil filmmaker Vetri Maaran said that the union government is trying to control the narratives because mainstream cinema is a strong determiner of political and social narrative. "They are trying to create a monoculture narrative in which you either have one narrative or no narrative at all," reported The News Minute.

Movies already undergo multiple censoring processes before the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) issues a certificate. Many times, the movie has to make cuts before the premier. Malayalam filmmaker and chairperson of the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy told The News Minute that the censor board members mostly protect the interests of the ruling government. According to the new bill, anyone can lodge a complaint and the film will be pulled back.

The new bill is an amendment to the Cinematograph Act, 1952 that introduced certification of cinematograph films for exhibition and for regulating exhibitions using cinematographs. The new bill is designed to give the union government more power. The new bill will also penalise piracy and introduce age-based certification.

Kamal added that pulling films out of theatres due to a complaint someone filed could cause a huge loss to producers. The new bill makes it possible for anyone to question the film once it is released. "It simply means that no film that opposes the ideology of the union government can be screened," said the TNM report.

Documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan said that he has little hope for any changes to be made in the new bill despite the dissent. He called the government's plan with the new Cinematograph Bill "completely illegal and unconstitutional". He added that it is a mockery of the process.

Vetri Maaran echoed Kamal's sentiment and said that the censor board has been 'overambitious in terms of curtailing creative expression'. He pointed out that the original purpose of the board was only to categorise a film and not to implement any cuts in it.

"This gives immense power to the system as well as the people who have influence within the system. The new bill affects both the filmmakers' freedom and film's revenue," he told TNM.