Bollywood gives mixed response to censor cuts on TV

Mumbai: The no show of Vidya Balan's superhit movie 'The Dirty Picture' on television has met with mixed reactions from Bollywood, with some filmmakers not in favour of editing the bold content, while others agreeing to the censor board's decision.

Vidya Balan's portrayal as southern siren Silk Smitha in 'The Dirty Picture' was set for its worldwide TV premiere on a Sunday afternoon last month. Despite the film being submitted with 59 cuts, it wasn't allowed to be aired because of its bold content, which created furore amongst channels and filmmakers.

Noted director-producer Ram Gopal Varma, whose upcoming movie 'Department' has loads of action, drama and an item number, says, "I am not aware of the regulations...how they (Censor board) manage it. The concept of censorship is

She is at her boldest ever in The Dirty Picture, but actress Vidya Balan says she never felt a sense of discomfort shooting for the movie as she was in the "trusted hands" of director Milan Luthria.
Vidya Balan has never exposed as much - but in the first look of 'The Dirty Picture', inspired by late southern sex icon Silk Smitha's life.
She has painted a perfect picture in an itsy-bitsy red blouse matched with luscious red lipstick.
The actress stands undaunted against three male leads - Naseeruddin Shah, Tusshar Kapoor and Emraan Hashmi.
The poster and the logo of the film has a very 1980s feel to it because the movie is set in that period.
The film is set to be released on December 2, the birth anniversary of Silk Smitha, who became a symbol of sensuality after featuring in bold and semi-nude roles.
Financial crises and personal problems took a toll on Smitha's life. It is this moving story that has been captured in this latest offering by Ekta Kapoor.
In tune with the period that the movie is set in, the Balaji unit has chosen to launch the first trailer at Galaxy, a single screen theatre in Mumbai.
Directed by Milan Luthria, the film chronicles the romantic journey of the erstwhile screen sensation, Silk Smitha. Luthria believes the choice of Vidya Balan to portray Silk Smitha is a casting coup of sorts.
Naseeruddin Shah is Vidya's co-star in the film. The duo last worked together in the 2010 hit 'Ishqiya'.
Balaji's keenly awaited multi-starrer 'The Dirty Picture' starring Vidya Balan in the lead role, will be released on December 2 on the birth anniversary of controversial actress and southern sex symbol Silk Smitha.
Music-packed, humorous and unabashed, 'The Dirty Picture' traces the controversial romances of Smitha. Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan have been cast opposite each other for the first time.
Born Vijayalakshimi in to a poor family in Eluru in Andhra Pradesh, she left school early, driven to become a movie star.
Going in with her aunt in Chennai, she soon found a sponsor who re-named her Smitha. After garnering much notice and acclaim with her first major role in the Tamil movie, 'Vandi Chakkaram' in 1979, Smitha assumed the name Silk, after the name of her character.
She was a big South Indian sensation, known for her bold and daring erotica on celluloid. Film makers could not imagine releasing a film without a titillating song or cameo by Smitha. She was every film maker's lucky charm.
Her most popular role is 'Layanam' (Malayalam, 1989) directed by Thulasidas. In fact 'Layanam' became so famous that it was remade in Hindi as the controversial 'Reshma Ki Jawani.'
The tragic life and death of Silk Smitha, the sex siren who became an inseparable part of South Indian cinema will no doubt make for interesting viewing.
This is producer Ekta Kapoor's biopic inspired by the actress.
Vidya who has stood her own in heroine oriented films like 'Parineeta' and 'Ishqiya' now has the tough task of breathing life into Silk Smitha's complex and tragic journey from poor village girl to popular soft porn actress.
The film's starcast also includes Tusshar Kapoor and Emraan Hashmi who play the romantic interests in Silk Smitha's life.
Vidya is known for her clever and different selection of films. She has done roles in the past that other popular mainstream actors shied away from.
It has taken actor Vidya Balan six years, but the versatile actress has established herself in the film industry as someone who can pull off listless scripts and cerebral roles deemed difficult for a mainstream actor to do.
Since, her debut in Parineeta, she has experimented a lot with her characters. It has just been six years but she has shown courage and will to be known as one of the industry%u2019s versatile actors.
This experimentation is crucial because Vidya is doing it in an era when established actors would be reluctant to change their popular public image.

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$B\'wood gives mixed response to censor cuts on TV$

The no show of Vidya Balan\'s \'The Dirty Picture\' on television has met with mixed reactions from Bollywood.

outdated in today's times as every person has access to various things."

"You just have to offer the content and it is up to them whether they want to see it or not. The whole thing about protecting it from children ...how anything can be protected from anyone, in that case even cellphones and internet must also be banned," Varma told PTI.

On whether 'Department' would also undergo certain cuts, he said, "We will take a call on that after censor board's decision and on what rating we get."

Director Soojit Sircar, whose recent movie 'Vicky Donor' dealt with a subject of sperm donation and had bold dialogues, echoes a similar view, "I think it is people's decision what they want to see and what not. It is not only the responsibility of filmmakers, but also of parents to see what it is right or wrong for their children. Like sometimes, even item numbers are vulgar."

"We were granted U/A certificate by Censor Board. In our film we are addressing a social problem so there is nothing wrong about it," he added.

Earlier, Aamir Khan's home production 'Delhi Belly', an adult comedy, was given an 'A' certificate. Even after re-editing and re-dubbing of certain dialogues that were considered too explicit for TV audience, the film is yet to be aired on the small screen .

"TV is a mass medium. Considering the content shown it regulation is essential in a way. Though somethings cannot be cut, yet if anything is objectionable, the cut should be justified (by censor board)," director of 'Delhi Belly',

Abhinay Deo said.

However, Tarun Garg of Balaji Motion Pictures had a slightly different view. "I don't want to say whether it is right or wrong to do so. We must wait and watch for I&B's decision. They will take appropriate decision," he said.

Trade analyst Vinod Mirani also shares a similar view. "The content on TV and films is different. It is okay to revise the film or certain things in a movie for the small screen audience. After all, we make films for audience. What sense does it make by not showing what they want to see," he expressed.

Meanwhile, the makers of Emraan Hashmi's recently released flick 'Jannat 2' have played safe by incorporating certain changes for the small screen audience, with the TV version having no lip-lock scenes or bad words.

"We knew censor board does not allow particular kind of language, love making and kissing. So we shot alternate takes and situations for those portions. The intimacy stays but there is no lip-lock. We have done special dubbing for satellite where there is a clean version without any bad words," director of 'Jannat 2', Kunal Deshmukh, said.

"When a film aires on television during prime time, you don't know who could be watching it. There may be a five-year-old kid around and I wouldn't want him to watch a movie with obscene language. So I am doing my bit," he added.