If his first directorial venture 'Oops', based on the life of male strippers, raised a lot of heat and dust in film circles, his second film as director too seems to be mired in controversy.
The film who's 'sizzling' promos on television have attracted a lot of attention in film circles, has been refused a 'UA' certificate by the Censor Board, an action which the filmmaker as well as others associated with it term as 'unjustified'.
Close on the heels of film's director Deepak Tijori voicing his protest, in recent interviews to the media, about the "mental torture" he went through over getting his film cleared, the film's male lead, model-turned actor Rajeev Singh, has also said that the Censor Board's action in granting an 'A' certificate to the film was unwarranted.
"The Censor refused a 'UA' certificate to the film as it felt that the film has content that should not be watched by children."
Censor Board is also planning to implement Anupam Kher's Guidelines to change the Censor Board Guidelines.
The Information and Broadcasting ministry has asked V.K. Sharma, chief officer of the Delhi Appellate Tribunal to draft at least 40 proposed changes that will lead to an amendment in The Cinematographic Act 1952.
A ministerial source reveals, "From now on, more than six kinds of certificates will be issued depending on the subject and genre, a departure from the current U, U/A and A certificates." He adds that specifics such as age will also be mentioned on the certificate. The extent of nudity and skin show in films will be clearly defined, so as to avoid any kind of manipulation.
The new guidelines will also try to bridge the gap between various regional boards; a coordination committee will be instituted to rule out confusion.
One such recent film that
was cleared by the Censor Board only because of a Supreme Court ruling in its favour, is Aushim Khetrapal's film 'Pick Me' that deals with homosexuality and male
prostitution. To bring about transparency in the Censor Board, the composition of the board members will be restructured. Political appointees will be kept to the minimum. Also, as Kher had suggested during his term as Censor Board chief, there will be student representation on the board.
Rural representatives will also be considered, since rural folk comprise at least 60 per cent of the audience. These altered guidelines will soon be cleared by the Law Ministry, after which they will be presented in Parliament for a final clearance.
