Now cops want a say in censoring films

MUMBAI, NOV 19: Commissioner of Police Ronnie Mendonca has asked the Censor Board chief Asha Parekh that the Mumbai police be allowed to che...

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MUMBAI, NOV 19: Commissioner of Police Ronnie Mendonca has asked the Censor Board chief Asha Parekh that the Mumbai police be allowed to check films that depict “excessive violence–verbal or physical” before they are given a clearance by the censors.

It would seem that the police thinks that celluloid gangsters are inspiring real-life bhais. This thought has especially gained currency after the recent onslaught of the underworld on the city. No final decision has been made on the issue as yet but Mendonca has admitted that the police is keen on getting the proposal through. “The Censor Board chairperson’s response has been very encouraging and we are in the process of working out the modalities,” he told Express Newsline.

The commissioner however denied that there was any immediate provocation for the move. “Two months ago we had conducted a seminar on Media and Crime which gave us some telling insights about how the police force is perceived by the mass media. Since then we have beentoying with the idea of approaching the Censor Board. Those films which revolve around the role of the police in the society should also be screened before us,” he said.

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When questioned for details Mendonca refused to comment on how and why he thought cinema was affecting the current crime scenario. But that he is serious about his proposal is evident from the fact that just last week during a programme organised at Hotel Oberoi on World Quality Day, when he was asked if he had any plans to check violence in films he had replied in the affirmative.

He had also added that he had seen a certain film which is scheduled for release soon and in which he had recommended certain changes. “I can only hope that the concerned authorities would accept them,” he had said. Though he refused to name the film it is widely believed to be Mahesh Bhatt’s controversial film, Zakhm which revolves around the 1992-93 communal riots and which has been referred to the Union Home Ministry for clearance.

Whencontacted, Mahesh Bhatt confirmed that Mendonca had seen the film. “He asked for a print of the film. He saw it along with a few of his colleagues some days ago but I do not know anything about the changes he has suggested,” said Bhatt. Meanwhile, Asha Parekh said that she had met Mendonca in connection with the police proposal and that it was being reviewed seriously.

Just last fortnight, the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Abbas Mukhtar Naqvi had written to the Central Board for Film Certification to start a process whereby filmmakers will have to send their scripts for prior approval. “If the completed film violates the script, then the CBFC is free to chop scenes,” he wrote.

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Now, if this police proposal does come through, it will lead to yet another hurdle for filmmakers before they can procure that increasingly elusive censor certificate.