I’m deeply stressed as a filmmaker, and I know I’m not alone. The censorship crisis, the moral policing, the politics of it has most of us on edge
— KARAN JOHAR
The chorus in support of film-maker Anurag Kashyap, who’s involved in a legal battle against the Censor Board regarding release of his film Udta Punjab, is getting louder and louder. Now ace producer-director Karan Johar has come out strongly in support of Kashyap. In a column published on NDTV.com, he has strongly criticised growing banning culture in India. Using hard-hitting lingo, he eve advised moral policemen to take pills to release anxiety.
Here’s a text of selective excerpts from the column:
So yes, I’m deeply stressed as a filmmaker, and I know I’m not alone. The censorship crisis, the moral policing, the politics of it has most of us on edge. I’m scared to use certain words: like if I use “Bombay”, will there be a problem? (Scratch that: yes, it already happened.) I am not supposed to use the word “beef”, I heard somewhere even Masterchef is swapping beef for, well, beep. And now, Punjab is apparently off limits. And to that I can only say: hahahaha, what on earth is happening?! It’s a place I love and I’m Punjabi and now, should I not be talking about Punjab myself?
Are we supposed to say that drugs aren’t being consumed in parts of the country? No, no, everyone’s just high on mithai. Is baby powder what’s being sniffed by available and interested nostrils? Rarely do mainstream stars step out of their comfort zones to do films that reflect reality, now you’re scaring away those that do. And it’s back to the drawing board.
Are we expected then to just lie? Do we not allow cinema to reflect the truth?
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