Censor Board chief quits over Dera chief's film: Panel members are chosen as govt chooses party workers, says Leela Samson

The Censor Board of India is rarely short of controversy and the latest one over the resignation of its chief Leela Samson over the clearance for the film Messenger of God is unlikely to die down any time soon. Samson cited corruption and coercion as reasons for her exit. “It is a mockery of Central Board of Film Certification. My resignation is final. Have informed the (I&B) Secretary,” she told PTI. The film, starring controversial religious body head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, has been opposed by groups in Punjab as blasphemous. (Singh has claimed to be Guru Gobind Singh in the past) [caption id=“attachment_2049553” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Samson’s departure is only bound to raise more questions. Ibnlive image[/caption] Asked why she has decided to quit, she did not specifically refer to the film but pointed to alleged “interference, coercion and corruption of panel members and officers of the organization who are appointed by the ministry.” While speaking to CNN-IBN, Samson said, “Problems started during UPA regime itself. Panel workers are chosen as they are party workers. My reason to resign is that there has to be a new board. Government has shown lack of respect to autonomous body.” She also spoke of the challenges of “having to manage an organization whose Board has not met for over nine months as the ministry had no funds to permit the meeting of members.” She said the term of all the members and the Chairperson of the Censor Board “are over. But since the new government failed to appoint a new Board and Chairperson, a few were given extension and asked to carry on till the procedure was completed.” “However, recent cases of interference in the working of the CBFC by the ministry, through an ‘additional charge’ CEO, and corrupt panel members has caused a degradation of those values that the members of this Board of CBFC and Chairperson stood for,” Samson said. This isn’t the first time Samson has taken on her fellow censor members, and once called them illiterate and an embarassment only to apologise later. This time, however, she has the backing of fellow Censor Board member Nandini Sardesai.

Censor Board chief Leela Samson's allegation of corruption correct, says board member Nandini Sardesai

— NDTV (@ndtv) January 16, 2015

“I am concerned that the tribunal cleared Messenger of God in haste,” she told NDTV.  She said that the censor board had unanimously decided that the film based on the head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect was not suitable for viewing. Sardesai told CNN-IBN said that it was very unusual that the film had been cleared by the Tribunal in less than 24 hours. These complaints are likely to gather strength given recent controversies that have dogged the board.  The last CEO of the Central Board of Film Certification, Rakesh Kumar, was arrested in August 2014 on charges of accepting a bribe for clearing a regional film. CBI sources had said at the time that some top producers of Bollywood had allegedly paid bribe to Kumar to get their films cleared in time. While it is not clear if the board has actually cleared MSG, but if it is released, it is bound to raise questions about just what criteria the board uses to assess content in other films. For example, the board demanded extensive cuts in The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, which led director David Fincher to withdraw the film from the Indian market. It also insisted on 41 cuts in Haider before approving its release. Anand Patwardhan protested when CBFC demanded 6 major cuts in his documentary War and Peace. Messenger of God, which has the Dera Sacha Sauda chief generally praising himself and his miraculous abilities, is likely to elicit protests from Sikh groups given how opposed they have been to its release. While the film perhaps deserves to be screened on the grounds of freedom of expression, it is perhaps time for the Censor Board of Film Certification and tribunals explain just how it functions when it comes to subjectively holding back or releasing films.