U-turn for A

Isha Koppikar and Mallika Sherawat may be game for a walk on the wild side, while Sameera Reddy locks her lips for the role of a lifetime. B...

Isha Koppikar and Mallika Sherawat may be game for a walk on the wild side, while Sameera Reddy locks her lips for the role of a lifetime. But the Censor Board of Film Certification is not walking with them. It has given its stamp of approval to these bold ladies with a capital A, that is only those above 18 years can watch them on the silver screen.

A sample of films released this year shows the ‘‘adults only’’ tag has become the rule. In January, 16 Hindi films got ‘‘A’’ certificate, in comparison to the 12 foreign films marked for adult viewing. Only two Hindi films came back with ‘‘U’’ — unrestricted viewing. In February, the tally was the same for Hindi films, while the number of films in the foreign category was 18. Thirteen Hindi films made it to the ‘‘U’’ grade. In March, the race was close. Fifteen Indian films were labelled ‘‘A’’, while 14 foreign films met with the same fate.

A Censor Board official said nearly 80 per cent of films cleared so far deserve ‘‘A’’ certificate. ‘‘There is a high percentage of adult content in the movies being made these days,’’ says a Censor Board official. Last month, nine Hindi movies were graded ‘‘A’’ along with four foreign films. Only 10 Hindi films were for unrestricted viewing.

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While in the past only films like Pyaasi Sherni were sure to get an ‘‘A’’, now films like Chameli, Murder, Hawas, Dev, Girlfriend, The Passion of Christ, Maqbool also meet the same fate.

Eighty per cent of Hindi movies released this year received the A-tag. In comparison, the ratio was 50:50 last year — 129 movies got a U-tag, while 120 were restricted for adult viewing.

So, is the Censor Board not willing to experiment with ‘‘bold themes’’? Board officials say the rules of certification leave nothing to doubt. ‘‘If sensitive themes like marital conflict are main motifs for filmmakers today, we cannot have children exposed to such movies,’’ they say.