Ram
Gopal
Varma
has
never
been
one
to
zip
his
lips
on
controversial
matters.
Now
anti-smoking
and
anti-tobacco
campaigns
shown
prior
to
films'
screenings
in
theatres
have
caught
his
interest
and
the
filmmaker
questions
the
logic
behind
them.
On
his
Twitter
page,
Ram
Gopal
Varma
wrote,
"People
want
to
forget
problems
for
two
hours
when
they
come
to
see
a
movie
and
they
are
pounced
upon
with
grotesque
close
ups
of
diseased
lungs
and
mouths.
I
have
been
seeing
a
million
anti-smoking
campaigns
since
I
was
a
kid,
but
yet
to
see
a
single
smoker
who
gave
up
smoking
because
of
them." He
added,
"Why
should
non-smokers
who
pay
good
money
to
see
the
likes
of
Hrithiks
and
Katrinas
suffer
grotesque
visuals
of
diseased
lungs
and
mouths?"
According
to
Indian
law,
a
disclaimer
about
the
evils
of
tobacco
use
has
to
be
flashed
while
showing
smoking
scenes
in
films
or
on
TV.
There
is
also
an
anti-smoking
ad
film
showcased
before
a
film
is
screened
in
the
theatre
as
well
as
during
the
interval.
In
fact,
it
is
due
to
this
reason
that
acclaimed
international
filmmaker
Woody
Allen
refused
to
screen
his
movie
Blue
Jasmine
in
the
country
as
he
didn't
want
the
audiences
to
get
distracted
by
the
anti-tobacco
disclaimers.
RGV,
who
is
gearing
up
for
the
release
of
Satya
2,
believes:
"If
the
government's
only
intention
is
to
educate
us
moronic
idiots
on
the
dangers
of
smoking,
why
stop
only
with
smoking
and
ignore
other
worse
evils?"
He
feels
that
"when
in
a
film
some
people
play
cards
there
should
be
a
mandatory
super
-
'Gambling
is
bad';
when
someone
in
the
film
drinks,
they
should
put
a
super
-
'Drinking
is
unhealthy' and
should
show
grotesque
visuals
of
the
liver
in
half
screen.
"When
someone
kills
someone
on
screen,
they
should
order
the
producer
to
freeze
the
frame
and
put
a
super
-
'Murder
is
a
crime
and
it
carries
death
penalty';
When
someone
is
having
an
affair
on
screen,
the
censors
should
put
a
rule
of
a
super
saying
'Adultery
will
make
you
burn
in
hell'..."
Ram
Gopal
Varma,
a
National
award-winning
filmmaker,
finds
that
the
government's
logic
is,
"What
they
fail
to
teach
us
at
educational
institutions,
they
force
us
to
learn
at
the
movies".
He
is
upfront
in
saying
that
"If
they
(government)
really
believe
that
ads
can
stop
people
from
having
vices,
they
should
logically
do
that
for
all
vices...
why
only
cigarette
and
gutka
(tobacco)."