Who calls the shots on controversial films—the censor board or the information and broadcasting ministry? Why is it that Ron Howard's much-debated film
made it to Indian theatres only after I&B minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi deemed it fit for viewing? Always accused of overplaying its hand in defining the moral code suitable for the public, this time too the ministry decided to play censor after Christian organisations protested the "blasphemous contents" in the film. From a call to hold back its release to granting an adult certification, with a prominent disclaimer that it was a work of fiction, it was the I&B ministry which took all the decisions.
For most part of the controversy, actress and Censor Board chairperson
For most part of the controversy, actress and Censor Board chairperson
Sharmila Tagore
, an appointee of the UPA government, was out of the country. She did say that she was in touch with the events that unfolded and was aware of the heat generated following the decision of the censor board to certify and release the film. Speaking for the first time since the controversy broke, Tagore says Dasmunshi's intervention sets an unhealthy precedent and creates a parallel censor board. Excerpts from an interview to
Anuradha Raman
:
Why do you think Christian bodies protested against The Da Vinci Code, particularly singling out the Censor Board for clearing the film?
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Aren't you worried about the I&B ministry playing censor? The censor board, after all, is an autonomous body....
Has the censor board been rendered irrelevant by the minister's interference?
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Do you see greater and more frequent intervention from the ministry in the future?
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Do you think Dasmunshi should have taken the censor board into confidence?
Does the board take into account India's diversity?
You sought the defence ministry's approval in clearing Rang De Basanti a few months ago. Now it is The Da Vinci Code and the I&B ministry. Has the censor board given up on its job to certify films?
What happened between you and the defence ministry over Rang De Basanti?
So, is everybody free to protest and block a film's release?
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