By Subhash K. Jha
Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen won’t release his latest work “Blue Jasmine” in India, objecting to anti-smoking warnings being inserted into his film. It has evoked a mixed response from Indian filmmakers – some are glad that he took a stand while others are okay with the statutory warning.
Here is what they have to say:
- Shoojit Sircar: I am glad Woody Allen took a stand. Those visuals are disturbing for viewers.
- A. Rajamouli: Hope Woody Allen’s heroic act drills some sense into those insensitive elements which thought of the ghastly anti-smoking video. I almost puked when I first watched the video. All the smokers all around me watched the footage of cancerous mouths nonchalantly. It ruins my cinema-going experience every single time.
- Gyan Correa: Personally, I am against any kind of coercion or censorship. We pay a price for crimes we don’t commit. Like most Indians, I don’t even smoke!
- Kabir Bedi: I agree with Woody Allen completely. The anti-smoking video spoils the movie-viewing experience that we pay for. Will the government stamp warnings on the text of books where characters smoke?
- Santosh Sivan: I think Woody Allen has a point. It is unfair to subject us to this footage. But I guess we live in a society where people are shown murdering, raping, taking drugs on screen. All these evils seem permissible as they don’t come with any warning. I was in a restaurant with a friend in Los Angeles when Afghanistan was bombed. My friend, who was smoking, was asked to refrain. He was really upset because there was a whole country going up in smoke and he couldn’t take a smoke! I think we need to examine the people who make these rules…Or maybe we should start censoring news on television and in newspapers. I’d like to see captions saying, ‘Please don’t bomb public places. It is injurious to health.’ Censorship should not be discriminatory.
- Bejoy Nambiar: That is completely Woody Allen’s call. I am completely anti-smoking. So I’ve no problem with the statutory warning. I just wish the video was shorter.”
- Irrfan: Woody Allen could make his version of the anti-smoking film and ask the government of India to play it with his film.
