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Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap & Other Celebs Sign Open Letter Against Cinematograph Act Amendments
After Centre released the draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021, many known celebrities from the film industry including Anurag Kashyap, Hansal Mehta, Shabana Azmi, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar criticized the proposed amendments to the 1952 Cinematograph Act and extended their support to an open letter for the same.
As per the proposed amendments, the Centre will be empowered with 'revisionary powers' with which it can order the re-examination of an already certified movie. The filmmakers said that this move has the potential to endanger freedom of expression and democratic dissent.
They further claimed that this act will render filmmakers powerless at the hands of the state as more vulnerable to threats, vandalism and intimidation of mob censors.
According to a report in Indian Express, the online letter with over 1400 signatories from different walks of life was drafted on June 27, 2021 by Eeb Allay Ooo! director Prateek Vats and documentary filmmaker Shilpi Gulati, along with an academician and a lawyer.
The letter read, "As another blow to the film fraternity, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed new amendments to the Cinematograph Act under which the Central Government would have the power to revoke or recall certification of films which have already been cleared by the Censor Board. Undermining the sovereignty of the Censor Board and the Supreme Court, this provision will effectively give the Central Government supreme power over cinema exhibition in the country potentially endangering freedom of expression and democratic dissent."
"This will also render filmmakers powerless at the hands of the state as more vulnerable to threats, vandalism and intimidation of mob censors. The proposal to amend the Cinematograph Act comes two month Centre dissolved the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) in April 2021," the letter further read.
Further, the letter also featured a list of five suggestions for the government which are as follows-
1. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 must clearly define the role of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as a body which certifies film content for public exhibition and not as a censoring body.
2. We recommend that the amendments giving powers to the Central Government to revoke a film certificate must be dropped. We agree with the spirit of the Supreme Court decision which held that this would violate the separation of powers in our democracy
3. While we agree that film piracy poses real challenges to filmmakers, the proposed amendments do not address this concern effectively merely by introducing a penal provision. If introduced, sufficient exceptions on fair use, de minimis use and derivative work specific to films must be created. Systemic solutions to genuinely counter piracy must be introduced.
4. We recommend that the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) be reinstated, as it enables affordable and accessible remedies to filmmakers.
5. The Cinematograph Act must be amended to include a clear definition of public' exhibition and bring under its purview only commercial films with substantive capital investment and revenue models tied to theatrical exhibitions.
Earlier, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj had taken to his Twitter page to express his disappointment over government's proposed changes to the 1952 Cinematograph Act. He had tweeted, "What a strange proposition to amend the law on film certification. What is the meaning of a censor certificate if the film can be reexamined on anybody's complaint? The ministry has asked the public for its opinion."
