- Vishwaroopam ban
Actors Salman Khan, Siddharth, Shabana Azmi, Khushboo and Rahul Bose and filmmakers Shyam Benegal, Ananth Mahadevan, Kalpana Lajmi, R Balki, Priyadarshan, Anusha Rizvi and Rensil D’Silva – celebs from both Bollywood and the South – have reacted strongly to the ban imposed by the Tamil Nadu government on Kamal Hassan’s controversial film Vishwaroopam.
This is what they said and/or tweeted: Salman Khan posted a picture of Haasan with the words, “Respect the art, respect the artist, respect the audience. I support Kamal Haasan.” He also tweeted: “Sure . 100% gonna see it . Dekho yaar its a movie n thr r only 2 kinds of movies good or bad. hit n flop N only people who decide r 1s who buy tickets.” He also posted newspaper articles that talk about the issue, and said, “Censor board has passed it too naaa”. Shabana Azmi: The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Prakash Jha’s film Aarakshan that once a movie was cleared by the Censor Board of Film Certification no state can impose a ban on a film.
It is the government’s business to give value to its own certification and ensure the film is shown. Those who protest have the right to do so. But if they do so violently then the law of the land must apply to them. If people are offended by Vishwaroopam, let them not watch the film. How can they take away the right of others who want to watch it? The Tamil Nadu government is being unfair to Vishwaroopam and to the minorities it claims to protect. For starters, have they even watched the film? India’s audience is not a monolith. Some may be moved, some may be offended, or claim to be offended for political gains. So be it.
Nobody is forcing the film down anyone’s throat. The space for freedom of expression is shrinking and we must act now to stem the tide. Shabana Azmi tweets: Javed suggests Govt shud disband CBFC bcoz its certificate has NO value.Any group of 10 odd people who r ‘offended’ can hold a film 2 ransom. Problem is that People have far more opinion than they have information.Pause. Listen. Process. Then speak. The purpose of Art is not only to placate and please. It is also to provoke, stimulate and initiate discussion.
TN govt wants 2 protect those who r ‘offended’ Im offended too when Im prevented from watching a film passed by CBFC. TN Govt r u listening. Shyam Benegal: What is happening to Kamal’s film is very peculiar. It reeks of some kind of a vendetta. It doesn’t make any sense. The fact is the hero of the film plays a patriotic Muslim doing good things for the country. They’ve simply gone against their own rules. Once the censorboard clears the film and if any section of the audience has any doubts or fears, the matter must be referred back to the censor board. You (the state) cannot do things entirely on your own.
If you are doing things on your own then why have the censor board in the first place? A censor certificate is valid in the entire country, and should not be disregarded in one state. A censor certificate has semi-judicial status. Priyadarshan: Nobody has the right to ban the freedom of expression. Subhash Kapoor: I think this is an attack on freedom of expression of a filmmaker. It is not only undemocratic but also sets a dangerous precedent. The state should not succumb to such pressure tactics by politically motivated groups. Siddharth: Vishwaroopam must be edited beyond recognition if it wants to be screened in Tamil Nadu.
This is the death knell for democracy, secularism and cinema. The ban on Vishwaroopam is regressive. It’s a back-to-the-dark ages blow by the Tamil Nadu government. How do we make a change? My deepest condolences to Kamal Haasan. Khushboo: If this can happen to a man who has put in 50 years and every penny he has earned into films, and someone who eats, drinks, breathes and lives for the love of cinema, I wonder what lies in store for others. Mani Shankar: It’s a gross travesty of creative freedom.
I can’t understand how any state government can usurp power from the CBFC which has cleared Vishwaroopam. Is one censor board not enough? Do filmmakers have to please every government and non-government body to release a film? Ananth Mahadevan: I haven’t seen Vishwaroopam as yet. But from what I’ve gathered after its Cochin and New York shows, the film is as much an entertainer as any mass appeal film. Rahul Bose: “I don’t think there was anything objectionable in Vishwaroopam for it to be banned. The government must watch each controversial film. If they find it unconstitutional, they must prosecute it and if found otherwise, they must protect it.”
