The second day of the Bollywood Hungama’s two-day OTT India Fest began with an engaging session titled ‘The Big ‘C’ word! Censoring, or self-control! What’s the need of the hour?’. The discussion was graced by Sanjay Gupta, Sanya Malhotra, Richa Chadha and Abhishek Banerjee and each of them made interesting points about why censorship is needed or why censorship should be abolished completely.
Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest Day 2: Sanjay Gupta reveals that Valmiki community got offended by “Har chor Valmiki nahin banta” dialogue in Shootout At Wadala: “My film was not allowed to release. We had to cut the line from the prints in Punjab and Haryana”
Sanjay Gupta was the most veteran person on the panel and his points raised maximum eyebrows. He began by saying, “Currently, all the biggest law firms in Mumbai have a separate division called the ‘Films Division’. When we submit the script to the OTT platforms, it is sent to those guys. They go through it minutely to see what is going to raise objections. CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) comes later. Before we go on the floors, we are told ‘yeh word hata do’. And you can’t counter them as they would say that they’ll not greenlight it. Hence, this is a terrible time to be creating content.”
He then also cited an instance of a film that was passed by CBFC and yet, got banned in a part of the country. He revealed, “One of my films, Shootout At Wadala (2013), had a line when the cop catches John Abraham and says ‘Har chor Valmiki nahin banta’. That is a very generic line. There’s nothing wrong about it. However, I was not aware that there is a Valmiki community in the North. They took offence to it though we didn’t intend to offend them.”
Sanjay Gupta continued, “My film was not allowed to release. It was taken off. We had to cut the line out of all our prints in Punjab and Haryana. I didn’t want to do it. But I had to as I was losing business. I lost my first weekend (due to the controversy). You never know who’s going to take offence and where. The tolerance level is at an all-time low.”
The Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest, in association with Cinema Waale Film and Television Productions LLP and Across Media Solutions, held on the 18th & 19th of October 2023 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai were presented by Sonata Poze, powered by TVS Jupiter and Kheloyar, Driven-by JK Tyre Blaze Rydr, alongside Matchmaking partner Bharat Matrimony, Stylish Audio partner Skullcandy, Banking partner Bank of Baroda, Healthcare partner Fujifilm Healthcare, True Chocolate partner Smoor, Astrology partner Astroyogi, Wellness Partner HCG hospitals, Cricketing Partner Metashot in association with Festival partners Satvik, Snacking partner Special Choice, Outdoor partner Bright Outdoor Media, Radio partner Radio City, and celebration partners Johnnie Walker and Heineken Silver.
Also Read: Sanjay Gupta reviews Jawan; recalls how Shah Rukh Khan never gave in to underworld bullying in the 90s: “He’s the same today”
More Pages: Shootout At Wadala Box Office Collection , Shootout At Wadala Movie Review
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