YourCV - Times Of India

FILM www.punemirror.in/bollywood
TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015
NO CUSSING PLEASE
Guddu Rangeela loses its ‘maal’, ‘saali’ and ‘maa ki’, but its
thematic references to honour killings and khaps stay uncensored
Roshmila Bhattacharya
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS@Roshmila
O
n February 13, the newlyappointed Chairperson of the
Censor Board of Film
Certification (CBFC), Pahlaj
Nihalani, had sparked off a storm of
protests with an arbitrary order
which, in one sweep, banned the use
of 15 Hindi and 13 English words and
expressions across all categories of
film certification — U (unrestricted
public exhibition), U/A (under parental guidance) and A (adult).
Soon after, following public outcry,
industry outrage and a five-hour
meeting with the Board members, the
infamous ‘cuss list’ was officially put
on hold. But filmmaker Subhash
Kapoor whose dark satire, Guddu
Rangeela, opens this Friday,
came up against it when
he approached the censors for certification.
“I was aware of the
list and made some
changes on my own
before I went to the
Board. For instance,
‘ch***ya’ was
replaced with ‘ghatiya’. I was expecting
them to take objection to ‘maa ki’, ‘yeh
paanch Pandavon ka nahin hijron ka
panchayat hai’ and ‘lugai ke ghagre
mein ghusa tha’ but since the film is
set in Haryana and deals with characters from a certain social strata, that’s
the lingo they’d use,” reasons the
writer-director.
As expected, these phrases got the
chop. Also, he was asked to delete
words like ‘saali,’ ‘maal,’ ‘lena’ and
‘pakadna’ too.
“I was taken aback by the objections to ‘saali’ and ‘maal’, but it was
explained to me that since they were
used in a derogatory way with reference to a woman — saali bhaag gayi!
And kya maal hai? — they were inappropriate. Also, ‘pakadna’ and ‘lena’
lend themselves to various interpretations,” says Subhash.
Another surprise was when he was
told to mute the phrase ‘nichla samaj’.
“I pointed out that even the government in its documentation
refers to ‘pichda samaj’
and ‘nichle varg ke
log’. It was argued
that certain social
organisations
might take
offense,” he
recalls.
I
was taken aback
by the objections to
‘saali’ and ‘maal’ but it was
explained to me that they
were used in a derogatory
way with reference to
women
24
The filmmaker surrendered to
the wisdom of the Board, made the
required changes and went home
with a U/A certificate. “I’m happy
with that and the fact that they did
not raise any objections to the thematic content,” says Subhash.
The film is loosely inspired by
the Manoj-Babli case. The couple
flouted the khap panchayat’s ruling
that being from the same caste
and community they were like
siblings, and got married in 2007.
They then approached the
Chandigarh High Court which not
only took cognizance of their case and
marriage but also granted them police
protection and security from the
Haryana government.
Despite this, in 2009, they
were hauled out of a bus they were
travelling in. And as the cops
watched, Babli was killed and Manoj’s
hands and legs were chopped off
and thrown into the river. The khap
leader who’d ordered the killings was
hailed as a hero while the case was
debated in Parliament.
“Guddu Rangeela is an entertaining,
commercial film, which touches on
sensitive issues like honour killings
and khaps. But the censors had
no issues with that,” says
Subhash.
I am choosy
about my roles:
Hrishitaa Bhatt
A
Manjot Singh to play Sidhu
YourCV
B
ollywood actor Manjot Singh
feels honoured to play the role
of former Indian cricketer
Navjot Singh Sidhu in the forthcoming biopic Azhar.
Manjot Singh is best known for his
role in films like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!,
Student Of The Year, Fukrey. The 22-yearold actor will be seen in the biopic Azhar, which is
based on life of the former India skipper Mohammad
Azharuddin.
“I am going to play the role of Navjot Singh Sidhuji.
It is a big role and I am excited, nervous. I auditioned
for the role and got selected,” Manjot said.
The actor, who will be completing his graduation
from Delhi University, is keen on meeting Sidhu.
“I have asked the makers if I can get a chance to
meet him (Sidhu) to understand him, his body language more closely for enacting the role better. I attended workshops, watched videos of him and read about
him,” he said. Actor Emraan Hashmi will be seen playing the role of Azharuddin in the biopic. The film is
scheduled to hit the screens in May next year. AGENCIES
ctress Hrishitaa Bhatt has credited her stint in regional
cinema for not doing enough Bollywood films these
days.
The 34-year-old actress, who was recently seen in Miss
Tanakpur Hazir Ho, said she shifted to Bengali, Marathi and
Punjabi films because she was not getting exciting roles in
Bollywood.
“I do less films. I am very choosy. When there is no Hindi
script, I do Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi and Southern films. I have
been doing films. Marathi and Bengali cinema have got good
scripts. As an actor, such roles challenge me,” she said.
The Mumbai-born actress made her debut in Bollywood
opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Asoka, but she found success with
Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Haasil followed by her acclaimed roles in
Ab Tak Chhappan and Jigyaasa.
“If you see my career graph, I have always chosen different
films. I have done my commercial lot also, where I have done
the song-and-dance and the typical love story tracks. Since I had
a different background of English theatre and Kathak dance, it
was very important for me to choose unique things,” she said.
Hrishitaa, best known for her appearance with Shahid
Kapoor in music video album Aankhon Me Tera Hi Chehra by
Aryans, said she always used to crave for character-driven roles.
“I joined the industry when I was 18-year-old. During that
time, I used to think I wish I had more character-driven roles. It
happened too because I chose some films with those directors
who were ready to make the kind of cinema I wanted,” she said.
Hrishitaa feels the current phase of Bollywood directors, who
is ready to experiment with the content, is the best one.
“I am very happy with today’s content of the Hindi cinema.
We actors are getting a lot of opportunities to do good work. To
be a part of good films is also important because if your films are
watched, then your roles will also be remembered,” she said.
AGENCIES