By:
Molly,
IndiaFM
Monday,
June
25,
2007
The
morning
the
Minister
for
Transport,
Govt.
of
Maharashtra,
Mr.
S.D.
Shinde
came
up
with
his
belated
call
to
bring
a
ban
on
speeding
motor-bikes
in
Hindi
films,
it
was
clear
that
his
call
was
not
going
to
be
taken
lying
down.
The
first
strong
reaction
came
from
Sharmila
Tagore,
the
Chairman,
Central
Board
of
Film
Certification
when
she
called
the
minister's
reaction
to
the
motor-bike
scene
in
Yash
Raj
Film
Dhoom-2,
a
film
which
was
released
recently
then
and
was
already
a
big
hit
was
"stupid
and
rubbish".
They
were
words
with
weight
coming
from
the
iron-lady
who
seems
to
mean
business.
She
came
up
with
all
the
justifications
on
why
she
reacted
the
way
she
did
to
the
minister's
call
applying
the
brakes
on
the
motor-bike
scenes
showing
stars
like
John
Abraham,
Hrithik
Roshan,
Uday
Chopra
and
Abhishek
riding
their
motor-bikes
in
a
very
rough
and
risky
way
which
the
minister
said
would
inspire
youngsters
to
ride
motor-bike
just
like
their
heroes
did.
Ms.
Tagore
said
the
minister
was
innocent
and
unaware
of
how
those
scenes
were
shot,
the
technical
wizardry
and
the
camera
angle
and
the
modern
day
special
effects
used
to
show
how
the
motor-bikes
in
the
film
picked
up
the
speed
they
could.
In
other
words
she
said
the
minister
was
making
an
issue
of
a
non-issue.
This
is
not
the
first
time
that
a
censor
chief
has
come
into
conflict
with
politicians
and
their
politicking.
The
last
time
it
happened
when
Anupam
Kher
was
the
chairperson
of
the
CBFC.
He
had
accepted
the
post
with
a
sense
of
responsibility
and
with
the
excitement
to
bring
about
some
major
changes
in
the
censorship
guidelines.
He
was
all
set
to
take
his
job
seriously
when
he
had
a
show
down
with
the
senior
most
Communist
Party
leader
Surjeet
Singh.
The
matter
came
to
such
a
head
that
Anupam
had
to
take
the
ageing
politician
to
a
magistrate's
court
in
Andheri.
The
two
thankfully
and
finally
saw
some
sense
and
ended
their
confrontation
but
Anupam
lost
heart
when
he
found
other
politicians
trying
to
put
all
kinds
of
pressures
on
him.
He
tried
his
best
to
keep
his
balance
in
the
interest
of
the
industry
and
good
cinema.
But
they
would
not
let
him
carry
out
his
functions
the
way
he
wanted.
A
time
came
when
the
pressures
reached
breaking
point
and
Anupam
just
wrote
a
farewell
letter
to
the
Minister
of
Information
and
Broadcasting,
picked
up
his
bag
and
flew
down
to
freedom.
He
did
not
want
to
make
a
fool
of
himself.
He
says
it
was
one
of
the
most
major
decisions
he
had
taken.
He
could
have
stayed
on
and
enjoyed
all
the
power
and
perks
of
being
the
chairperson
but
he
refused
to
bow
or
bend
to
suit
his
own
ends.
"I
am
a
responsible
artist
and
a
doubly
responsible
and
conscientious
citizen
of
India.
I
could
not
sell
my
conscience
for
a
powerful
and
decorated
chair.
I
have
never
taken
nonsense
from
anyone
and
I
will
never
ever
whatever
the
circumstances
I
am
in",
Anupam
says
with
positive
pride.
If
you
ask
me
censorship
of
films
in
India
could
have
its
most
exciting
time
when
the
late
Vijay
Anand
was
appointed
the
chairperson.
He
was
one
of
the
leading
filmmakers,
a
trend-setter
and
a
path-breaker.
He
accepted
the
post
on
the
condition
that
he
would
be
given
all
the
freedom
and
there
would
be
no
interference
from
any
place
or
position
of
power
or
influence.
He
took
his
job
very
seriously.
He
travelled
all
over
the
country,
met
filmmakers
and
regional
censors
if
any
in
various
cities
with
whom
he
exchanged
opinions.
He
made
a
thorough
study
of
all
the
censorship
guidelines
in
India
and
the
world
and
finally
came
up
with
proposals
for
change
which
if
accepted
would
have
brought
about
drastic
changes
in
the
outdated
censorship
code
being
followed
during
the
last
fifty
years
with
no
attempt
made
to
go
with
the
changing
time.
His
proposals
made
the
I
and
B
Ministry
see
red.
They,
the
custodians
of
Indian
customs,
culture
and
values
found
his
ideas
"startling
and
shocking".
Some
of
them
even
went
to
the
extent
of
calling
him
a
mad
man
who
they
had
made
the
mistake
of
offering
him
that
prestigious
chair.
The
moment
Anand
realized
it
was
futile
to
hold
on
to
his
chair
if
he
was
not
allowed
the
freedom
to
do
what
he
wanted,
he
just
walked
out
of
his
office
and
never
looked
back.
The
late
Hrishikesh
Mukherjee
was
almost
forced
to
take
up
the
post.
He
was
seen
as
a
very
lenient
and
kind
chief.
He
tried
his
best
to
save
filmmakers
whenever
they
were
in
trouble
over
censor
problem.
He
tried
his
best
to
see
that
no
films
were
damaged
at
the
censor's
office.
He
sometimes
offered
his
own
services
as
an
editor
to
free
filmmakers
who
violated
the
censor
guidelines.
He
retired
with
a
lot
of
regrets
which
he
never
made
open.
Shakti
Samata,
another
senior
filmmaker
tried
his
best
to
bring
about
changes
during
the
two
terms
he
was
offered
but
he
found
himself
in
a
hopeless
position
where
the
politicians
always
tried
to
push
their
heads
full
of
outdated
ideas
into
his
functions.
All
the
other
previous
censor
chiefs
unfortunately
stayed
in
their
posts
toeing
the
lines
of
the
people
in
power,
the
parties
in
power,
and
the
influential
sections
of
society.
Sharmila
Tagore
now
comes
as
a
whiff
of
fresh
and
even
fragrant
wind.
She
has
the
courage
to
stand
up
and
fight
for
the
right
kind
of
cinema
which
is
possible
if
the
Censor
Board
also
helps.
She
has
no
vested
interests.
She
has
knowledge
about
both
films
and
the
culture
and
the
ways
of
life
in
India.
Filmmakers
all
over
the
country
are
seeing
a
ray
of
hope
in
her.
Will
she
fulfill
their
hopes
and
be
the
Chief
of
the
Board
which
the
industry
desperately
needs
today?
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