Shonali Bose is thrilled. The filmmaker who was livid about the Central Board of Film Certification having asked for certain cuts in her new film Margarita With A Straw, is now on top of the world. The reason - a Revising Committee, which screened the film again on Friday night, has agreed to pass her film without any cuts. Speaking right after her meeting with the CBFC, she said:
I am absolutely thrilled. They just asked me to replace something, not even cut, which I am absolutely OK with. They came out and said we just loved the film. We were so overwhelmed with the response.
Yes, it was time to celebrate but it didn’t come easy. Shonali’s film, about a young girl suffering from cerebral palsy, who comes to terms with her queer sexuality, won at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. But back home, the CBFC had asked for certain cuts to pass the film for an India release. This included toning down a kiss between Kalki Koechlin and another actress, and a scene in which the female protagonist is shown being helped by a male character to undress and pee.
The Examining Committee of the CBFC, which ordered the cuts had told an exasperated Bose that they had ‘moral guidelines’ to follow. But the filmmaker was adamant about not settling for a single cut, she says:
I kept fighting and went all the way to the top and ultimately got the film without cuts. Obviously any filmmaker would prefer that you don’t have to go through the torturous delay.
While Shonali Bose fought back and got lucky, this is just the latest example in a long list of instances by the newly constituted CBFC’s bid to play ‘moral police’.
The board had earlier brought out a controversial list of banned swear words, it also muted the word ‘lesbian’ in Dum Laga Ke Haisha and recommended 9 cuts in Anushka Sharma’s NH 10, including the word ‘kutti’ (bitch) despite giving it an ‘Adults only’ certificate.
“If you are giving an A certificate, there should be zero cuts. Why should you have moral guidelines? This is nonsense” argues Shonali.
The filmmaker who fought against the CBFC’s recommended censoring of her film supported The Quint’s #FreeYourMind campaign. She said:
Every human being on this earth has a right to conscience, meaning you can live your life and express yourself according to your own conscience, so don’t bow down to society pressures, conventions and taboos. Free Your Mind!
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