Need to consider people’s sensibility while making, showing films: Parliament panel

Movies have the “ability to stir up emotions more deeply” than any other product of art, the panel said

Almost every two in three films certified ‘Adults Only’ or parental guidance (UA) between April 2019 and September 2022 had to tweak scenes or dialogues before they were given clearance by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a Parliamentary panel report has said.

While most of the film industry voiced concern about content regulation of movies during their depositions, the panel batted for certification and said there is a “need to consider the sensibility of the people of the country while making and showing films in our country” as movies have the “ability to stir up emotions more deeply” than any other product of art.

The data shared with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology showed that 444 of the 618 (71.84%) films that were certified ‘A’ were cleared after “cuts” while 2,468 out of 3,739 (66%) films certified ‘UA’ had cuts during the period.

However, the case was diametrically opposite for ‘U’ (unrestricted viewing) certified films – only one in three or 790 of 2,368 (33.36%) films faced cuts.

At the same time, the committee also expressed concern that over the years the number of films “cleared without cuts” have been sharply reducing and the number of controversies over film certification has been on the rise.

The report ‘Review of Functioning of CBFC’ referred to a comment by a member of CBFC who said that cultural nuances apply to every country and cited the example of France. He said in France, gender nudity is not a problem but gangster films are. Likewise, he said, in other countries other factors can be an issue.

The panel felt that “in a country like India, which has a diverse culture, there is a need to consider the sensibility of the people of the country while making and showing films in our country and therefore there is a need for deliberation and certification”.

Referring to the judgement in a petition filed by KA Abbas against granting ‘A’ certificate for his documentary ‘Tale of Four Cities’, the committee said the Supreme Court had taken a stand that the treatment of motion pictures must be different from other forms of art and expression because motion pictures have the ability to stir up emotions more deeply than any other product of art.