The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Censor Board draws flak

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Censor Board draws flak

S.R.Ashok Kumar

Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth, criticise selection of panel members

CHENNAI: The Central Board of Film Certification is now in the eye of a storm.

Actor Kamal Haasan has criticised the way the Censor Board panels are being constituted. More recently Vijayakanth, president, South Indian Film Artists Association, condemned the manner in which "political appointees" made it to them.

Before the Lok Sabha elections, the Board and its panels were changed. At that time Mukesh Ambani's wife, Neeta, and their relative Tina, Saurav Ganguly's wife, Dona, and Ravi Shastri's wife, Ritu, Shatrugan Sinha's wife, Poonam, Shah Rukh Khan's wife, Gouri, and Juhi Chawla were made members of the Board.

At the regional section, actor S.Ve.Sekhar and producer Ram Kumar, son of Sivaji Ganesan, were made Board members. In all the regional advisory panels, more than half the members were from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The situation was the same in New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. In Chennai almost all the 28 members were from the BJP. After May 2004, Mr. Sekhar joined the AIADMK and sent in his resignation. But nobody has been appointed in his place.

After nearly a year, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry changed the board members and panel members in Chennai and Hyderabad. Forty-two members were appointed and nearly all have political affinity or are sympathisers of a particular political party.

Kamal Haasan criticised the Central Board for having political appointees. He said that it should have members from all walks of life. Political appointees would only carry forward the ideology of their respective parties. Actor Vijayakanth echoed similar views.

Board officials feel they are caught in a situation where on one hand, the Board is criticised for increasing vulgarity and violence, while on the other, they are criticised by higher appellate bodies.

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