Where's My Freedom To Watch ??
Hello, I'm a citizen of India and I hate the fact that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry(I&B Min.) and the Indian Censor Board(ICB) censors everything worthwhile watching. And I'm not even talking about pornography !! I argue my case in two clear points.
1. Movies in Cinemas
2. Movies/ T.V Series on Television
1. Movies in Cinemas
2. Movies/ T.V Series on Television
1. Movies in CinemasI went to watch the brilliant comedy "The Hangover" in cinemas a while back. There was a certain scene in it where a naked Chinaman jumps out of the trunk of a car, beats up the protagonists and runs away.
Now, although this is a funny sequence, I was left wondering whether to laugh or not, along with the audience because THE SCENE WAS CUT ENTIRELY FROM THE MOVIE. I was left wondering for 5 minutes(after the edited sequence) about what the hell happened in between? The only way I got to know was through one of the actors appearance on the "Tonight Show with Conan o' Brien" later on.
Now, although this is a funny sequence, I was left wondering whether to laugh or not, along with the audience because THE SCENE WAS CUT ENTIRELY FROM THE MOVIE. I was left wondering for 5 minutes(after the edited sequence) about what the hell happened in between? The only way I got to know was through one of the actors appearance on the "Tonight Show with Conan o' Brien" later on.
GREAT!!! Here I was enjoying the movie, felt I had spent Rs. 175($3.5) to good use but now I have to go buy a DVD of the movie to see what actually happened. But this is NOT what I want to do. Here in India Rs. 175 (for a movie ticket) is still a big deal for people in the ages of 18-25 years. I can't believe that a movie that's already rated A (shown in India as U/A), which is not supposed to be shown to younger audiences, sells short to even the adult audiences, for whom the movie was made for!! Why is the Indian Censor Board such a coward ? Why cut scenes in a movie which is supposed to be shown to adults anyways ? I mean we audience are paying good money to watch movies and eat ridiculously expensive popcorn and soda in the hall. WE DESERVE BETTER !!
The Indian audience is more mature than what the I&B Ministry and the ICB thinks. I dislike the fact that these people have become the so called Moral Guardians for Indians. HEY, NEWSFLASH!! We can protect our morality, ourselves. We'd like to watch what we want uncensored and unedited, and YES we can take it. Period.
And here's my advice to the squeamish..... Don't like movies for mature audiences ? STAY HOME !!! Let other people who want to see that movie see it. I don't want to watch your 15 minutes of fame on TV's TRP hungry news channels(some of them anyways) going on and on with your rants about movies that are inappropriate for "fellow" Indians and that should be banned. I'd like to say to them in the words of Eric Cartman from South Park: "SCREW YOU GUYS!"
Anyways, what is the point of censoring ? People will eventually find out about the uncensored bits ( as censorship in itself arouses curiosity about the censored items). The director of the movie put those scenes in there for us to watch. On censoring, we are denying his vision, his views, his art whatever that may be.
We are living in a globalised and liberal world. We can't let censorship control our freedom to watch what we want to watch.
We are living in a globalised and liberal world. We can't let censorship control our freedom to watch what we want to watch.
On the political front on this issue we should not get cowed down by political and ideological parties such as the RSS and the BJP and the Bajrang Dal to exercise their own moral values on us. Don' t let them take our freedom to watch movies. Never give them the moral authority. Never give in to them.
[P.S., the profanities at least weren't cut of "The Hangover". Thankfully, I wasn't subjected to loud, long censor BLEEPS!]
2. Movies & TV Series on TV
Now as a viewer, you've probably noticed that nowadays on TV, especially the English movie channels, namely HBO, Star Movies, etc the Stalwarts of the Hollywood fare, have ramped up their lineup on recent hit movies.
Now as a viewer, you've probably noticed that nowadays on TV, especially the English movie channels, namely HBO, Star Movies, etc the Stalwarts of the Hollywood fare, have ramped up their lineup on recent hit movies.
I'll start with the HBO's premiere of the slick action thriller "Wanted" (Sept. 2009), the one starring Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman; based on the graphic novel/comic.
Now, I've watched the movie originally in a movie hall last year, and I loved every bit of it( coz I like action movies in general). From the gore, the witty profanities to the spectacular action sequences, to the gunfights. You name it. I mean, I haven't exactly regressed to a depraved bloodthirsty degenerate( I just like to watch movies. Any kind of movie).
All the shots in the movie were well made, the profanities were called for and as for the gore ? Well, when you get shot by a gun, I reckon it's supposed to be bloody.(and for once I'd like to thank the ICB to have not cut too many sequences from the movie [that I know of] showed in cinema halls).
Now, I've watched the movie originally in a movie hall last year, and I loved every bit of it( coz I like action movies in general). From the gore, the witty profanities to the spectacular action sequences, to the gunfights. You name it. I mean, I haven't exactly regressed to a depraved bloodthirsty degenerate( I just like to watch movies. Any kind of movie).
All the shots in the movie were well made, the profanities were called for and as for the gore ? Well, when you get shot by a gun, I reckon it's supposed to be bloody.(and for once I'd like to thank the ICB to have not cut too many sequences from the movie [that I know of] showed in cinema halls).
So I imagined that the movie to be shown on TV, which such pomp and show ( I distinctly remember a half page ad in the most popular English newspaper daily about the movie premiere on TV), would let me revisit that same enjoyment I had in the movie hall. It was not to be...............
Readers of my blog will surely agree with me on this one (especially the ones who loved watching "Wanted"). The movie on HBO India was sheer CRAP.
Why? Censors, censors, censors!!
Everything I loved about the movie was cut out. Brutally edited/butchered. Profanities that made you laugh ? Gone or fast forwarded. Gore ? That's gone too. Gratuitious set piece explosions and crashes ? Edited so much you feel someone has made a b-grade action movie from the 80's.
Why ? So that you, the so called "family audience" (Sony Pix uses this misnomer before every movie it shows), every TV channel in India wants to cater to these days can be reached. By the way, for a movie with an A rating, it was shown as a U rated movie (check out Tata Sky's 'i' button when the movie plays).
WTF ? HBO India wants to show this movie to minors ? Come on........ just for TVRs ( Television Viewership Ratings- gauges responses by tv audiences on tv content) you would show an A rated movie as a U rated movie to everyone ? It's not a movie supposed to be shown to minors anyway. Don't you see a little hypocrisy here ? I mean why bother even showing an edited "Wanted" which was supposedly( I'd like to think) edited by a very paranoid mother !!
Now, neither the movie on TV caters to adult audiences (who'll lose all sense of enjoyment on watching this mutilated version of Wanted) and nor to squeamish ones . Another movie which I was raring to see was "Shoot E'm Up" starring Clive Owen and Monica Bellucci. This was also edited till no actual gun fight was seen, literally. And this movie is supposed to be about gunfights !!
Hey, the bloody and gory gunshot wounds in the gunfights were made to be shown as visualised by the Director of the movie. Some very hardworking animator and SFX wiz put his heart and soul in those sequences and by golly I want to see and enjoy those very sequences on the telly.
This editing/censoring spree is not just limited to "Wanted". It's in every movie on the TV channels lineup. "Saving Private Ryan", all battle sequences involving blood, censored. "Queen of the Damned" had all instances of vampires feeding censored. "Sliver" , nude scenes (if it had any, I wouldn't know) censored. And that's just the movies!
Why? Censors, censors, censors!!
Everything I loved about the movie was cut out. Brutally edited/butchered. Profanities that made you laugh ? Gone or fast forwarded. Gore ? That's gone too. Gratuitious set piece explosions and crashes ? Edited so much you feel someone has made a b-grade action movie from the 80's.
Why ? So that you, the so called "family audience" (Sony Pix uses this misnomer before every movie it shows), every TV channel in India wants to cater to these days can be reached. By the way, for a movie with an A rating, it was shown as a U rated movie (check out Tata Sky's 'i' button when the movie plays).
WTF ? HBO India wants to show this movie to minors ? Come on........ just for TVRs ( Television Viewership Ratings- gauges responses by tv audiences on tv content) you would show an A rated movie as a U rated movie to everyone ? It's not a movie supposed to be shown to minors anyway. Don't you see a little hypocrisy here ? I mean why bother even showing an edited "Wanted" which was supposedly( I'd like to think) edited by a very paranoid mother !!
Now, neither the movie on TV caters to adult audiences (who'll lose all sense of enjoyment on watching this mutilated version of Wanted) and nor to squeamish ones . Another movie which I was raring to see was "Shoot E'm Up" starring Clive Owen and Monica Bellucci. This was also edited till no actual gun fight was seen, literally. And this movie is supposed to be about gunfights !!
Hey, the bloody and gory gunshot wounds in the gunfights were made to be shown as visualised by the Director of the movie. Some very hardworking animator and SFX wiz put his heart and soul in those sequences and by golly I want to see and enjoy those very sequences on the telly.
This editing/censoring spree is not just limited to "Wanted". It's in every movie on the TV channels lineup. "Saving Private Ryan", all battle sequences involving blood, censored. "Queen of the Damned" had all instances of vampires feeding censored. "Sliver" , nude scenes (if it had any, I wouldn't know) censored. And that's just the movies!
HBO India introduced recently that Vampire series based on the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries series of books named "True Blood". Now the series is fun to watch, until, snip...snip, censorship arrives yet again!! Any instances of gore is either blacked out or fast forwarded or plain simply cut. And of course sex scenes will be cut out, as is usual. I mean when HBO can show it's successful series like Sex and the City, Big Love and True Blood in India, TV series which deal with a lot of social issues regarding prejudices and xenophobia. and others, why backtrack and edit the very scenes the series became so famous for in the USA ? Come on HBO India, WTF man !! Why the double standards ? On one hand HBO is saying Indian audiences are ready to watch these series and on the other they become censor happy.
If you are so worried about us watching the "unwatchable" things maybe you should just rerun old Teletubbies episodes.
Star Movies channel does the same thing with it's movies. 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later did not look like a proper survival horror movies that I've come to love, all because of the brutal editng done to them. Oh and I am not forgetting Set Max and Zee Studio either. I know what you did to Kill Bill Vol.1 and 2. That movie had some of the best fight scenes involving martial arts with gore, seen in a long time. And you censored them too!!
World Movies edited Your Name is Justine and Irreversible (I know you know which scenes !) which are highly acclaimed international films. Leon had it's gore lowered (grudgingly) too. I hate this too.
World Movies edited Your Name is Justine and Irreversible (I know you know which scenes !) which are highly acclaimed international films. Leon had it's gore lowered (grudgingly) too. I hate this too.
And now for one of my Favourite TV adult comedy cartoon series on VH1 India, South Park. How did something so profanity laden, sometimes visually shocking(yet devilishly funny) and with so much social taboos(so called) arrive on Indian shores ? That is still a bit of a mystery to me. I love the fact that the series tells stuff as it is without any bias (even if it is with a rather dark sarcastic humour). I applaud that South Park is here, albeit a decade+ late (it was made back in 1999). But hey presto, censorship rules here too. Let's bleep everything on South Park . Right? VH1 India thinks so. The very thing the series is famous for (profanities spoken by an 8 year old is somewhat funny although not practical in real life) is bleeped, which ruins the fun. And why is smoking of any form in the series censored ? Minors are not watching this series so why preach to adults who can choose for themselves ?
Animax India, another favourite channel of mine shows the latest and greatest animes( Japanese Animation) has also become censor happy in recent times ( I liked the early Animax better when it had just started operations in India, coz some of the stuff they broadcast were still unadulterated). Ghost in the Shell has its gore and nudity censored. Cowboy Bebop named as one of the best anime series ever made had its best action/gunfight sequences cut out. And for people thinking Animax is a kids channel, it is not(even if it is projected as one).
Star Plus channel's latest gossip topic these days, Sach ka Samna reality show ( from the US's "The Moment of Truth" reality series which was shown on Star World, prior to the Hindi version shown now). When I saw The Moment of Truth on TV for the first time, I thought , 'No way can anyone replicate this for a hindi audience in India !'. And I am glad I was wrong. To show something like this, where participants have to literally prove themselves by lie detectors to win some cash money at the risk of getting your self's image tarnished, your morals and ethics in view of the front of the world, was what I considered too strong a concept for India. But because something like this is even shown in India to somewhat traditionally conservative audience is really saying something.
Like as if Indian audiences are getting ready to come out in the open. Like it's ready to watch what it really wants, unblemished, edit free ( like it's ready to get out of that bloody "Saas Bahu" rubbish serials rut !)
My final words on these topics are these
As an informed viewer, I don't want TV channels to worry about my morals/ethics/stomach to watch gore,sex,etc. I am over 18 and can choose to watch whatever I want. And censorship will only bore the hell out of me and make me switch the channel (and that's not what you want, do you ?). And I will buy the unedited DVD versions of TV series and movies to watch eventually, so you TV channel guys can clear your conscience about infecting the mind of the people. If we don't want to watch something we'll tell you. Same goes for the I&B Ministry and the Indian Censor Board.
As an informed viewer, I don't want TV channels to worry about my morals/ethics/stomach to watch gore,sex,etc. I am over 18 and can choose to watch whatever I want. And censorship will only bore the hell out of me and make me switch the channel (and that's not what you want, do you ?). And I will buy the unedited DVD versions of TV series and movies to watch eventually, so you TV channel guys can clear your conscience about infecting the mind of the people. If we don't want to watch something we'll tell you. Same goes for the I&B Ministry and the Indian Censor Board.
(But I guess the real reason that TV channels are diluting there content is to toe the line of the above ministries)
If you really are worried about minors watching A rated content( which are shamelessly cut to a U rating for "family viewing"), then just show the mature content at a later hour,say, after midnight when the kiddies have gone to sleep and put in a disclaimer at the beginning of the show/movie. But a better way of doing things would be to introduce a kind of selective programming of TV shows/movies which are broadcast on parallel but same channel to the TV network where "adult audiences" are segregated from the "general audience" and mature content is accessible(pay per view) only to adults. Or another method would be to "block" access to channels temporarily that show mature content at any particular time( that can be accessed by adults only). This way everyone wins.
As for the Govermental and political pressure, well they can be dealt with, as our audience mindset changes for the better(liberal), so will the Government's and the Polity. And well, no one should be the boss of what we can and can't watch in India in the first place. Period. This prudishness kills our creative spirit in movie and TV series film making ( something that is surely changing, e.g. Balika Vadhu[Colours Channel], Water and Fire [movies made by Deepa Mehta].
For HBO and Star Movies and the like, I'd like to say I understand why you censor yourself. To save yourself from the moral police. But understand this, censorship will only alienate your viewers. Viewers like me who are pissed of now!
So please dear Indian audience! Make your voice heard. Demand what's rightfully yours, your freedom to watch.
[P.S. Homosexuality is decriminalised now. How about legitimate pornography ? Or is that too liberal ? Would be a great tax cash cow for the Government. Like the cigarette.
And how come nobody has shown Frank Miller's 300 on TV yet ? Too much gore? Hmmmm.....]
created September16, 2009
So please dear Indian audience! Make your voice heard. Demand what's rightfully yours, your freedom to watch.
[P.S. Homosexuality is decriminalised now. How about legitimate pornography ? Or is that too liberal ? Would be a great tax cash cow for the Government. Like the cigarette.
And how come nobody has shown Frank Miller's 300 on TV yet ? Too much gore? Hmmmm.....]
created September16, 2009
New Delhi, India
