Ten of the 23 members of the Central Board of Film Certification have resigned as the controversy over Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan’s movie MSG:The Messenger of God continued. Nine members sent a letter to the Information and Broadcasting ministry about their decision on Saturday morning. Another member also quit. At least three others are said to be planning to follow suit.
Even though the CBFC reviewing panel denied MSG:The Messenger of God certification earlier this week, the film was quickly cleared for screening by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal. The approval prompted CBFC chairperson Leela Samson to announce her resignation on Thursday. Samson cited “interference, coercion and corruption of panel members and officers of the organisation who are appointed by the Ministry”.
On Saturday morning, the following CBFC members sent a letter to the I&B ministry resigning with immediate effect: Ira Bhaskar, Mamang Dai, Lora Prabhu, Pankaj Sharma, Rajeev Masand, Sekharbabu Kancherla, Shaji Karun, Shubhra Gupta and TG Thyagarajan.
Member Nikhil Alva told Scroll that he has also quit. At least three others said to be planning to follow this action.
"The events that led to the Chairperson Ms. Leela Samson resigning from her position are merely the proverbial last straw," the letter said. "Since the time that we first occupied seats on the Board, we have been asking for some critical changes, which are imperative if the functioning of the CBFC has to be reformed. "
But the ministry has failed to respond satisfactorily, the letter says. Among the complaints: "The Advisory Panel continues to be filled up with people of questionable credentials appointed directly by the Ministry, without taking the Board’s recommendations into account. No funds have been released for conducting orientation workshops for the panel members. Officers from other departments, who have no understanding or experience in cinema are appointed as officials."
The board has not met for the last eight months. "We don't want to be made scapegoats for the current situation," said Karun, a renowned Malayali filmmaker. "To my mind, we are all like the little child who calls the emperor's bluff and tells him he's not wearing any clothes. If we don't say this, who else will?"
He added, "We believe in a shared cultural ethos and the government will realise this and hopefully protect it."
Speedy approval
The terms of the resigning board members had expired a few months ago and they had been asked to stay on indefinitely till their replacements were appointed. Their resignations will pave the way for the constitution of a new board, just as Samson's exit will make way for a new chairperson.
CBFC member Nandini Sardesai on Friday morning had questioned the manner in which the appellate tribunal that approved MSG was formed so suddenly. “How can you constitute a tribunal overnight?” she told Scroll. "It usually takes a month to get a tribunal to hear a case."
Sardesai was on the revising committee that unanimously rejected certification for MSG. “I feel as though my credibility had been questioned," she said. "It's a matter of principle. We sat there watching the film for three and a half hours. There as no difference of opinion among us." The committee felt that the film, in which Gurmeet Singh plays himself, is an advertisement for the godman and his religious sect. The film shows him solving Punjab's drug crisis and curing people of deadly diseases.
Interference alleged
“Now every godman will make a movie claiming he is a superhero with the ability to cure terminal diseases," Sardesai said. The Dera Sacha Sauda was trying to get the movie released this week but said that it will probably take till January 23rd to hit theatres.
Samson has also accused the government with interfering with the CBFC’s functioning in previous instances, including her decision to allow Aamir Khan-starrer PK to be released without any cuts. Since her appointment to as CBFC chief in 2011, Samson has repeatedly called for the revamp of the censor board and greater autonomy in its functioning.
Masand said that Samson tried to change the randomness of certification decisions and bring about more consistency. “During Leela Samson’s tenure there was an effort to bring transparency and try and maintain the vision of the filmmaker,” he said. “She made a lot of effort to train, acclimatise and empower the examining committee members about the films they were watching."
Here is the complete text of the letter:
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Even though the CBFC reviewing panel denied MSG:The Messenger of God certification earlier this week, the film was quickly cleared for screening by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal. The approval prompted CBFC chairperson Leela Samson to announce her resignation on Thursday. Samson cited “interference, coercion and corruption of panel members and officers of the organisation who are appointed by the Ministry”.
On Saturday morning, the following CBFC members sent a letter to the I&B ministry resigning with immediate effect: Ira Bhaskar, Mamang Dai, Lora Prabhu, Pankaj Sharma, Rajeev Masand, Sekharbabu Kancherla, Shaji Karun, Shubhra Gupta and TG Thyagarajan.
Member Nikhil Alva told Scroll that he has also quit. At least three others said to be planning to follow this action.
"The events that led to the Chairperson Ms. Leela Samson resigning from her position are merely the proverbial last straw," the letter said. "Since the time that we first occupied seats on the Board, we have been asking for some critical changes, which are imperative if the functioning of the CBFC has to be reformed. "
But the ministry has failed to respond satisfactorily, the letter says. Among the complaints: "The Advisory Panel continues to be filled up with people of questionable credentials appointed directly by the Ministry, without taking the Board’s recommendations into account. No funds have been released for conducting orientation workshops for the panel members. Officers from other departments, who have no understanding or experience in cinema are appointed as officials."
The board has not met for the last eight months. "We don't want to be made scapegoats for the current situation," said Karun, a renowned Malayali filmmaker. "To my mind, we are all like the little child who calls the emperor's bluff and tells him he's not wearing any clothes. If we don't say this, who else will?"
He added, "We believe in a shared cultural ethos and the government will realise this and hopefully protect it."
Speedy approval
The terms of the resigning board members had expired a few months ago and they had been asked to stay on indefinitely till their replacements were appointed. Their resignations will pave the way for the constitution of a new board, just as Samson's exit will make way for a new chairperson.
CBFC member Nandini Sardesai on Friday morning had questioned the manner in which the appellate tribunal that approved MSG was formed so suddenly. “How can you constitute a tribunal overnight?” she told Scroll. "It usually takes a month to get a tribunal to hear a case."
Sardesai was on the revising committee that unanimously rejected certification for MSG. “I feel as though my credibility had been questioned," she said. "It's a matter of principle. We sat there watching the film for three and a half hours. There as no difference of opinion among us." The committee felt that the film, in which Gurmeet Singh plays himself, is an advertisement for the godman and his religious sect. The film shows him solving Punjab's drug crisis and curing people of deadly diseases.
Interference alleged
“Now every godman will make a movie claiming he is a superhero with the ability to cure terminal diseases," Sardesai said. The Dera Sacha Sauda was trying to get the movie released this week but said that it will probably take till January 23rd to hit theatres.
Samson has also accused the government with interfering with the CBFC’s functioning in previous instances, including her decision to allow Aamir Khan-starrer PK to be released without any cuts. Since her appointment to as CBFC chief in 2011, Samson has repeatedly called for the revamp of the censor board and greater autonomy in its functioning.
Masand said that Samson tried to change the randomness of certification decisions and bring about more consistency. “During Leela Samson’s tenure there was an effort to bring transparency and try and maintain the vision of the filmmaker,” he said. “She made a lot of effort to train, acclimatise and empower the examining committee members about the films they were watching."
Here is the complete text of the letter:
With this letter, we the undersigned are submitting our resignation from our position as Board Members of the Central Board of Film Certification with immediate effect.
The events that led to the Chairperson Ms. Leela Samson resigning from her position are merely the proverbial last straw. Since the time that we first occupied seats on the Board, we have been asking for some critical changes, which are imperative if the functioning of the CBFC has to be reformed. However, in spite of sending numerous recommendations and appeals, and having several meetings with the Secretaries and senior officials of the ministry, and even one with an earlier Minister, not a single positive step has been taken by the Ministry. We had also sent a letter to the then I & B Minister in December 2013 making several recommendations that would strengthen CBFC as an institution, and that we were willing to work on with the government. The earlier letter is attached to this mail. None of the recommendations that we made in that letter have been taken on board, and there has been no engagement with us on crucial issues that we were raising.
The Advisory Panel continues to be filled up with people of questionable credentials appointed directly by the Ministry, without taking the Board’s recommendations into account. No funds have been released for conducting orientation workshops for the panel members. Officers from other departments, who have no understanding or experience in cinema are appointed as officials. Furthermore, there are several positions in the regional offices that do not have regular appointments There has been no Board meeting for the last one year for us to discuss developments and make recommendations, as we were told that there are no funds to organize it! It seems that the CBFC Board is not required at all.
This Board has consistently attempted to make the certification process more uniform, transparent, consistent and sensitive to the freedom of filmmakers’ right to expression with responsibility. The struggle to do so has been extremely frustrating and disappointing.
It is our firm position that given the cavalier and dismissive manner in which the CBFC is treated by the government, it is impossible to perform this duty with even a modicum of efficacy or autonomy. We also object to the way in which the Chairperson has been treated by the Ministry which we feel has been humiliating for us all. This is not the way in which the head of an organization ought to be treated, and it is certainly not one that is conducive to any productive relationship.
We do hope that the new Board will find the government more responsive than we have.
With regards,
Ira Bhaskar, Lora Prabhu, Pankaj Sharma, Rajeev Masand, Sekharbabu Kancherla, Shaji Karun, Shubhra Gupta, TG Thyagarajan
