It is said that art is the depiction of reality that is always produced to make lives easy and that’s what real, impactful art does—it transforms and brings about colossal changes in society. It has been the art that has triggered reformation movements across the globe and if we talk of great revolutions in the past, the catalyst was always some form of art. But in this part of the world, cinema, which is an art form, is acting differently and the flow of the process has been reversed. Films in India, while not showing the ground realities, are giving birth to criminal tendencies in the society due to which we are witnessing an increase in crimes where the criminals, mostly, draw their inspiration from one or the other film, out there for the consumption of the audience.
Crime, criminals, gangs, and extortion; a maid killed the owner of the house; drugs, novel ideas to commit the old crimes: this is what occupies the larger picture and the rest also revolves around the same while as the content is presented in such a way that it leaves a long-lasting impact on the minds of the “unconscious” members of the audience. In many cases, the commission of the crimes in the movies is even justified as the film reaches the climax—but one must ask: isn’t that going to have its effects on society, and who has got the remedy? The problem with the content and the realization of what is being presented, and should go through a filter, is seen everywhere, be it Bollywood or Tollywood; none is better in any sense.
Coming back to the point of making sense, if we talk of Hollywood, the movies like Inception, Interstellar, Arrival, Gravity, Martian, Passengers, and Oblivion just blow the minds away because of their futuristic themes, even though they turn difficult to comprehend, but they make their efforts to open up a tiny window of time, showing their audience what might lie ahead in future. Here we ask: when is the Indian film industry going to come out and start making sense of what it is producing? There sure are certain exceptions.
Talking of the content which promotes and tries to normalize crimes in society, the Censor Board has got a role to play, which it must. If it can behave with utmost sensitivity when it comes to matters of the promotion of hate against any particular faith, or excess violence, why can’t it go a step ahead and take measures on making sure what content goes out in the name of entertainment? Censoring the graphic, explicit content—which no matter is important—is history now, the Board needs to upgrade and start filtering the ideas which implicitly promote hate, and criminal activities, and find a permanent place in the subconscious mind of the audience. The time has come for the Censor Board to make sure the movies that are made, make sense, and the Board members better take a deep dive into what is put in front of them for certification.
