New Delhi: A song or a concoction of a few rhyming words to be more precise by an unfamiliar name became a huge deal for Censor Board off lately after the authorities objected to the usage of word ‘Bombay' in it.
Quit an unknown face, musician Mihir Joshi has now become the talk of the town after his piece titled ‘Sorry' from the last year released album ‘Mumbai Blues' has ‘Bombay' muted in it. Joshi remained shocked after realizing that when his song ‘Sorry' was aired on television, it had the word ‘Bombay' beeped.
Calling the decision ‘right,' current chief of the board, Prahalaj Nihalani has stated that though the decision was taken by the previous committee headed by Leela Samson, he stands by the mutation.
And while the news has found criticism from all around, it is also quite complex to know how ‘Bombay' turned crucial for CBFC in a song that might not have been heard by majority of people before this controversy broke out.
The musician Mr. Joshi has claimed that the sole purpose behind using ‘Bombay' in the song was the fact that it rhymed with other words ‘say' and ‘today.' And this must be the most logical reason one has ever given to the Censor Board in his/her defense. The song made in the light of Delhi gang rape case, caters to the plea of father who is apologizing to her daughter for not providing her the required safety.
Ever since the controversy has found its existence, several questions are doing to and fro in our wits. When asked how justified the decision is, Nihalani told the media, “There is a government notification on this. Given the past controversy over the use of Bombay in films, this was avoidable. There are some elements, who make deliberate attempts to create controversy by using Bombay keeping in mind future prospects.”
Read Also: MSG-The Messenger of God: Things that might have been objected by the Censor Board
Considering the usage of ‘ Bombay' as a deliberate attempt to create controversy, CBFC seems to have forgotten that it's the sole body in the nation that probably generates more controversies than Mallika Sherawat, who once remained their most favourite.
And if ‘Bombay' is actually termed as objectionable word, isn't the high court still called ‘Bombay High Court' and not ‘Mumbai High Court'. Isn't the stock exchange still ‘Bombay Stock Exchange' and not ‘Mumbai Stock Exchange'?
What about films like ‘Bombay Talkies' and the recent in buzz Anurag Kashyap's ‘Bombay Velvet'? With such double standards that are evidently on display, we wonder what actual work does CBFC people do when they are not watching PK and MSG-The Messenger Of God!
In the similar light, the word ‘virgin' was initially objected by the censor board from Deepika Padukone and Arjun Kapoor starrer ‘Finding Fanny.' However, after much hoopla, the word remained intact and the film released without any severe chopping.
The latest controversy that directs us to this muddy world of censoring is how ‘MSG…' starring one of the highly popular self acclaimed Godmen faced objection initially and then passed by the board.
Also read: PK: A funny film not for those who don't understand jokes!
Aamir Khan's ‘PK' faced a terrible violation from various religious groups all over the nation despite getting a clear chit from CBFC. And while ‘Sorry' incident trending nowadays is surely not the single incident people are dealing with in the light of censor board, Bollywood or the Indian film industry has been facing such ‘logically unjustified' issues time and again.
Elaborating around the stance of Censor Board on films, critically acclaimed director Anurag Kashyap once mentioned that the picture would be better if the authorities would certify the films saying that particular content is not suitable for a certain section of people, rather than cutting out on scenes and performances or words used.
The filmmaker also opened up when asked about Censor Board's take on his then disputed film ‘Ugly'. “When censors saw ‘Ugly' they applauded it and said, ‘We have to put it on censor because it's a law',” told the filmmaker.
The cases have also been emerged where several filmmakers have confessed bribing the authorities for getting their film passed.
