The battle started at the January 7 meeting in Bombay of the subcommittee of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the I&B Ministry on media policy to which Bhatt was invited in his capacity as chairman, Film and Television Institute of India (FTTI), Pune. Upset by the barrage of criticism unleashed by committee members on Bombay filmmakers for the obscenity depicted in films, a furious Bhatt declared it was his right to watch pornography. He questioned the government committee's right to be "morality kings" when "your own secretary tells me that he watches pornographic films behind closed doors". An allegation he reiterated in print in the Indian Express on January 10.
Ghose's reaction was sharp. And swift. In a letter to Bhatt on January 11, he demanded an unqualified published apology failing which he would "seek such protection as the law affords". To journalists he fumed: "I barely know this man and have had neither the inclination nor the occasion to discuss my cinematic preferences with him. I don't watch pornographic films in my bedroom, bathroom or wherever." He was contemptuous of Bhatt's reasons for making the remark. "He's a complete ass. Just another windbag. Next he'll say I go to brothels. Some people will say anything, implicate anybody, make mendacious remarks to garner cheap publicity." Which Bhatt certainly did by implying the official responsible for monitoring and eliminating pornographic content in television was actually a closet pornography fiend.
Bhatt got it from others too. He was sharply reprimanded by feminists and political parties. The National Council for Women expressed concern about the manner in which the debate on the freedom of expression in the country was being posited by a spokesperson of the film industry. BJP spokeswoman Sushma Swaraj demanded Bhatt be sacked from his post at the FTII saying "if such persons are at the helm of affairs in premier institutions, the quality of film and television programmes can well be imagined".
At week's end, Bhatt, on location in Jaipur, relented. Faxed a letter that could be constituted as both limp explanation and apology, to the editor, Indian Express, a copy of which he sent to Ghose. He said he'd been "quoted out of context", expressed unhappiness that assurances that "the arguments and comments made at the meeting would be kept secret", had not been kept. He went on to protest his innocence declaring he was referring "to another secretary he'd met in the course of his run-ins with members of the Censor Board, whose name", he said with uncharacteristic discretion, "he'd much rather not disclose". He emphasised "the secretary mentioned in the article is NOT Mr Bhaskar Ghose"; expressed surprise at Ghose's "outcry" declaring he "found it odd that he presumed I was talking about him, because nowhere in the article have I alluded to him at all".
Ghose's reaction was circumspect, terse. "When you say 'your own secretary' at an I&B official meeting and in print, you're clearly referring to the I&B secretary, not the secretary, posts and telegraphs. On his views on censorship, pornography, I reserve my comments. As for his allegations, now that he's retracted his statement I consider the matter closed."
The matter is closed, but speculation persists as to the reasons for Bhatt's volte face. Industry insiders aver that in apologising, Bhatt, as creative director, Plus Channel was not so much answering the dictates of his conscience as obeying Plus Channel owner Amit Khanna's diktat. A channel that has four major programmes—Rangoli, Swabhimaan, Business Plus and Mirch Masala—on Doordarshan and many more in the pipeline, can hardly afford to anger the secretary, I&B.
Meanwhile, it's a pity Bhatt has once again allowed his penchant for theatrics, for style over substance, get the better of him. Thanks to which, what could have been an opportunity for meaningful debate on policy degenerated into a perile dispute about people.
