Anti-smoking disclaimer: One per film is fine, says Shyam Benegal committee

Many filmmakers and actors have locked horns with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over the guidelines on depicting smoking in films. Yet nothing changed. But now things are looking up with the Shyam Benegal committee suggesting that the current advisory, that appears every time a character is shown smoking on the screen, be replaced by a static visual that appears only once at the beginning of the film. [caption id=“attachment_2752608” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shyam Benegal. File photo/Solaris Images[/caption] The committee feels that displaying these notices during the film time disturbs the “narrative of the film”. Speaking to The Times of India, a source said, “A meaningful static disclaimer at the beginning of the film with standard visual background approved by the ministry of health may be shown for a minimum period along with an audio backing it.” This disclaimer will have to be in all Indian languages across all platforms. Further the committee, which also consists of luminaries like Kamal Haasan, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Piyush Pandey among others, suggested that the film industry in consultation with the Health ministry should make small films on the subject to be screened in theatres and on television. The committee was set up earlier this year to suggest changes to the CBFC in terms of their procedures and guidelines followed during film certification. The first set of recommendations was submitted in April and is currently being considered by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry. The second part was also submitted to the ministry recently and will be in the public domain soon. Earlier actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and director Anurag Kashyap had protested against these disclaimers in the film. Kashyap had even delayed the release of his film Ugly due to this guideline and filed a plea in the Bombay High Court challenging the rules under the Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Act.