Bollywood song to K-pop, Lok Sabha witnesses light moments amid logjam

Amid the din, there was a light moment when Anurag Thakur sang a number from a Mithun Chakraborty film.

Amidst persisting logjam and acrimony in parliament over Manipur violence, the Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed some lighter moments during the passage of the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023, with Union minister for I&B Anurag Thakur crooning a number from a Mithun Chakraborty film, while YSRCP MP Maddila Gurumoorthy spoke on developing indigenous cultural brands like South Korea's K-pop to promote cinematic-tourism.

Even as a continuous uproar over the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on the Manipur strife gripped the floor of the House, Union I&B minister Anurag Thakur, while introducing the Bill in the Lok Sabha, said that the legislation will help the fast-growing Indian film industry that is slated to reach $100 billion in the next five years.

The Bill was first introduced and passed in the Rajya Sabha last week, and on Monday, after a brief discussion, the legislation was passed in the lower House. Among the MPs who spoke were Manoj Tiwari, Navneet Kaur, Ram Shiromani Verma and Kruparaj Balaji.

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The legislation makes piracy a criminal offence, inviting a jail term of upto 3 years, Rs 3 lakh in fine and a levy of 5 per cent of the movie’s production cost. It has also removed the 10 year validity on Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certification for movies, making the certifications perpetual. The Act has also introduced three new age-based certifications under the 'UA' category — 'UA 7+', 'UA 13+' and 'UA 16+'.

Two new sections in the Cinematograph Act 1952 — section 6AA to prohibit the unauthorised recording of films and section 6AB to prohibit their exhibition — have been added. Section 6AA also prohibits recording of a film or any part thereof with the sole purpose of using the recording in the same device.

Speaking on the legislation, Thakur said that the legislation will help everyone including spot boys to choreographers in the industry, which is 100 years old. “Piracy is a big issue, and years of demands fell on deaf ears. This legislation has been brought about after years of discussions – it went to the standing committee and after its recommendations in 2020, we held wider deliberations,” Thakur said.

He added that several reports have shown that due to piracy, the industry loses Rs 20,000-22,000 crore annually. “We have also brought a provision where children under the age bracket take parental permissions to view a movie,” he added.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, an actor himself, supported the Bill and said that OTTs should not show cigarette smoking on screen. Other members who spoke included BSP MP Ram Shiromani Verma, Shiv Sena MP Krupal Balaji, independent MP Navneet Rana, and BJP MP Shankar Lalwani.

YSRCP MP Maddila Gurumoorthy said that K-Pop was attracting tourists to South Korea. “We should look at promoting the Indian film industry to do the same,” he said.

The discussion also saw a lighter moment when Thakur recalled that a youth delegation from Central Asia performed I’m a Disco Dancer from Mithun Chakraborty’s 1982 film Disco Dancer. "These children were not even born when the film was released, but its popularity persisted," the minister said.

The government carried on with the discussion even as Opposition MPs crowded the well with placards that had statements such as “When will PM Modi break his silence on Manipur sisters?”, “Justice for Kargil soldier’s wife”, etc.

Speaking to DH, BJP MP and actor Kirron Kher said that other governments ignored the demands of the industry for years. "It was Sushma Swaraj that give us industry status, and now this government has brought in these amendments; there will be stringent action against piracy and we will not have to ask for certification every 10 years," Kher said.