Should smoking in films be banned? An incident last week has reignited the debate.
A 15-year-old boy in Hyderabad, influenced by KGF: Chapter 2, smoked a full packet of cigarettes, and had to be rushed to hospital.
The Cancer Patients Aid Association, Mumbai, had petitioned the Karnataka High Court, saying smoking in the film was represented as ‘heroic’ and ‘stylish’ and it violated the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).
The court dismissed the NGO’s petition on the grounds that the movie had already been released in theatres on April 14.
According to the COTPA, every film should have static messages during scenes that show actors smoking, as also a 30-second anti-smoking awareness video before the opening credits and in the middle of the film.
Citizen activist Tara Krishnaswamy is “not a fan of going overboard” to restrict creative freedom. “The Censor Board should be held accountable if it doesn’t issue an appropriate certificate,” she says.
Despite the censor certificate, if children are still exposed to such a film, then their guardians are to be blamed, she adds. She believes judicial activism isn’t the solution in cases like this.
Rolla Das, assistant professor, English and cultural studies department, Christ (Deemed to be University), is not in favour of banning films because its characters smoke.
“Such regulations on films haven’t produced great results. The toxicity and animosity being bred through mass media, especially films like ‘Kashmir Files,’ are more harmful,” she says.
‘Larger good’
Dr Pratima Murthy, professor and head of the department of psychiatry, Nimhans, says OTT is getting away without showing statutory warnings.
“If people get hooked to tobacco at a young age, it is tough to quit,” she
says.
While there is a slight reduction in prevalence of tobacco thanks to several campaigns, a KGF kind of depiction will undo the positive results, she fears.
“In the argument of creativity versus the larger good, the latter is more important,” she says.
‘Social space’
Award-winning film critic M K Raghavendra says, “I don’t think curtailing expression has been a major issue in India after 1947, and creativity has not been inhibited by censorship. It is true that films are getting more and more toxic but that is because of their attitudes, especially socio-political ones. But it would be difficult to identify elements that make them ‘toxic’ — like sex, vulgarity and violence.”
What would be the criterion for banning a film, he wonders. “The public space is full of conflicts which are responsible for toxicity and I don’t see cinema as especially culpable here. The only way is to allow conflicts to play out in the social space, which would gradually reduce mutual animosities,” he argues.
‘Be responsible’
Retired psychology professor Maya Sridhar says children have no choice in what they watch because they usually watch what adults do. She advises parents to be watchful. “Also, filmmakers should have some ownership of their content to the public,” she says.
Sundar Ramachandran, resident counsellor, Sakthi De-addiction Rehabilitation Centre, Yelahanka, says people who have a personality disorder develop addictions. “It starts off either with a genetic predisposition or peer pressure,” he elaborates.
He wonders how statutory warnings and graphic images on cigarette packs help addicts. “When they see their own relatives smoke in the real world, how will banning films help?” he says.
Monster hit
‘KGF: Chapter 2’ has remained in the news ever since its teaser dropped last year. In the video, Yash, who plays a gangster, lights up a cigarette with a smoking hot machine gun. The film eventually became the second highest grosser among Indian films.