Years ago, during a late night screening of the gutsy Dev D , a little voice piped up: “Mummy, woh aunty kya kar rahe hain?”
The feisty onscreen couple was in the middle of a passionate rendezvous. The embarrassed mother tried shushing the child, before the young couple made a hasty exit.
The film was rated A, meant for adults. The parents should not have brought a child inside the hall. But, they did. Like many others, who believed the Censor rating meant nothing.
Over the years, awareness levels among parents have improved, but the scene in theatres has changed little. Children continue to watch films not meant for them. The Central Board of Film Certification rates films as U (unrestricted public exhibition), UA (parental discretion required for children below 12 years), A (restricted to adults) and S (restricted to any special class of persons). It is expected that people going to the cinemas will abide by the rules, in letter and spirit.
But, ushers in many standalone theatres and multiplexes rue that parents not only flout the rules, but also tick off conscientious staff who remind them of the rule. Recent biggies that have seen children below 12 accompany parents include Maryan and Kuttipuli . Among the current crop of films in theatres, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has seen a steady flow of young children into film halls. So has R…Rajkumar , both of which carry a UA certification.
An usher in a local multiplex says that though he and his colleagues try to explain why kids must not be taken to these films, parents overrule them. “The normal response is: ‘I don’t mind. Why should you?’” he says.
Many parents take the issue of children getting affected by films a little too lightly, says Chitra Prasad, a homemaker and mother of a teenager. “As such, too much of what is passed as ‘U’ is not watchable with children. If the Censors themselves certify it as ‘A’, it is a definite no-no,” she says. More than sex, she is worried about the violence on screen. “What are we teaching children? That you can eat popcorn and watch someone’s guts spill out?” she asks.
The manager of another multiplex says that while it is not easy to implement the rule for UA films, they are very strict with A-rated films. “We don’t sell tickets to children below 18 and those spotted in school uniforms. If they insist they are adults, they need to show us age-proof,” he says.
D. Srinivasan, consultant psychiatrist, KMCH, says there is little need to expose children to something they don’t need or might not understand. “This is not an educational movie that they have to watch,” he says.
“Already, kids are exposed to things they don’t need. As a result of this, they behave in a pre-mature manner, like pseudo adults, without understanding the consequences. They can’t really differentiate between fact and fiction. Some scenes make a strong impression on them. It wreaks havoc on them for life,” he says.
A safe option
Many parents say they bring their children to watch UA-rated films because they have no caretaker to leave them with. That was one of the reasons why Magic Hat, which functions at Sathyam, Chennai, was started. For a charge, trained staff look after children while their parents enjoy a film. “We wanted to provide parents the opportunity to watch a film without worrying about their children’s safety,” says Preetha Ramaswamy, Marketing and PR Manager, SPI Cinemas.
