Smoking and Drinking in Films

The state government of Maharashtra has said that it wanted a ban on alcohol and smoking scenes in movies and would request the Centre to amend laws.

Minister of state for social justice and de-addiction activities Sachin Ahir told reporters:

Several rounds of discussions have taken place in committees headed by the Chief Minister and the social justice and de-addiction activities minister on the need to prevent depiction of smoking and drinking in films.

It has been decided to write to the Centre to amend censorship laws to ban such scenes. If a film's plot requires such scenes, cigarette and alcohol should be blurred or edited .

Ahir said that the censor board is subject to national law and may not be able to impose such a ban. However Ahir noted that 80% of Marathi films received grants from the state government:

We are asking the culture affairs ministry, which provides the grants, to make it mandatory for filmmakers seeking finance to ensure they do not have smoking and drinking scenes in their movies.

All films shown in India that show a protagonist smoking will automatically be granted a UA [PG] certificate by the Censor Board of Film Certification, no matter what the rest of their content may be, a source from the CBFC told Times of India.

So even if a film like, say, Haathi Mere Saathi or Andaaz Apna Apna that children love, had featured a character blowing smoke rings, the censors would have had to grant it a UA certificate, according to the source.

In addition, the disclaimer regarding cigarette smoking has to have a voiceover from the person who smokes on screen. Hence in Heroine, audiences will hear Kareena Kapoor warning them against cigarette smoking at the beginning of the film and after the interval, said the source and pointed out that there'll be no exceptions.

Update: First Heroic Failure

17th September 2012. See  article from  zeenews.india.com

Anti-smoking campaigners welcomed the Central Board of Film Certification's decision to give an A certificate to the upcoming movie Heroine , claiming the move will protect young children from getting exposed to tobacco use in the film.

In a letter addressed to CBFC chairperson, HRIDAY said that CBFC has taken the decision considering that almost 30% of the scenes in the film depict tobacco use.

As per the new directions of CBFC, the film will now have to show a statutory warning during every scene depicting tobacco use.

However...

See article from articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Delhi High Court has allowed the release of Bollywood movie Heroine without display of static anti-smoking message in its smoking scenes.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher allowed the release of the movie, saying it is not appropriate for the government to disturb the state of affairs in interregnum.

The film is set to be released on September 21.

In the latest chapter of a long running Indian debate about films containing cigarette smoking, the I&B ministry has asked the Censor Board to ensure that a film containing smoking scenes also carries two 20 second anti-tobacco warnings voiced by the actor who is seen smoking in the film. One at the beginning of the movie and one after the interval.

The ministry has also asked the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that a written anti-smoking warning of appropriate size is presented on the screen through the duration of the scenes in which an actor is smoking.

Last year on September 27, the Health Ministry had through a notification come up with a set of anti-tobacco rules in the films meant to be implemented from November 2011 onwards. However, on several points the Health and the Information and Broadcasting ministries were not on the same page. The matter was then referred to the Law ministry which suggested both ministries to come to an understanding.

Sources said while some points suggested by the Health ministry had been incorporated now, some of the other suggestions were yet to be accepted. The Health ministry had wanted one of its representatives in the Central Board of Film Certification, which is still being contested by I&B ministry.

Another point of variance between the two ministries revolves around the Health ministry's contention that each film which has a smoking scene should be automatically classified U/A. The I&B ministry was not in favour of implementing such a rule, sources said.

Leela Samson, chairperson of the Indian Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), agrees that the Central government regulations on depiction of smoking scenes and use of performing animals curtailed the artistic freedom of film-makers.

She commented at a press conference was held to brief journalists about the Ministry of Health's requirement that the legend that smoking is injurious to health be scrolled on screen every time a smoking scene was shown.

Samson argued that films that depicted smoking scenes should display the statutory warning at the beginning and the end of the film. The requirement of scrolling the warning whenever a smoking scene occurred was unnecessary. Currently, films with a smoking scene were being classified as UV (for parental caution for those aged below 12).

However she didn't seem to mention the curtailment of artistic freedom caused by her own censor board, who routinely cut anything remotely sexy or that may offend even the most easily offended.