The party in power often misuses the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as a tool to push its political agenda, which results in extra-Constitutional authorities dictating terms, said renowned film-maker Mani Ratnam.
Speaking at the eighth edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) on Saturday, he welcomed the appointment of a panel headed by film maker Shyam Benegal to revamp the censor board. “CBFC is not independent as desired. It is towing the line of ruling party in power,” he said, recounting how he faced issues with his films Bombay and Iruvar .
Pahlaj Nihalani, the controversial head of CBFC, is expected to attend BIFFes on Sunday.
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When asked whether Indian society was ready to do away with censorship, Mr. Ratnam said that people often underestimatee the intelligence of the audience. “The audience is dynamic. They expect something more, as they are exposed to a wonderful visual world of late,” he said.
Credits seniors
He credited the reality in his style of film making to Shyam Benegal and K. Balachander. “They are the ones who taught me to make a serious and intense drama realistic,” he said. When one from the audience complimented him saying his films made three decades ago, still felt modern and contemporary, he was all praise for the films of Guru Dutt, saying most of Guru Dutt’s films still seemed contemporary and have stood the test of time.
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Speaking on changes sweeping cinema, he said: “Though I am still enamoured by the depth of celluloid, there is no other way, except accepting the change.”
Next film in Kannada?
Mani Ratnam, who made his debut with Kannada film Pallavi Anupallavi in 1983, will be returning to Kannada cinema after a gap of three decades if all goes well.
When film maker S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu offered to produce the film if he made a film in Kannada, Mani readily agreed. “I got my first break in Kannada. It got Karnataka State award for the Best Screen Play,” Mani Ratnam recalled. He said he was sure he can always return to Kannada anyday as a comfort zone.
Mani Ratnam who even spoke in Kannada, even asked the audience to ask questions in Kannada rather than Tamil or English.
A filmi moment for a fan
For 25-year-old student Nirmal R. of St Joseph’s College, it was a now or never moment at BIFFes to speak to his idol - filmmaker Mani Ratnam.
The first year student of the bachelors in filmmaking course at the College, and a volunteer at the festival, went very filmi and as Abhishek Bachchan asks in Ratnam’s film Guru, in the climactic court scene for his “five minutes”, he asked Mani Sir to give him five minutes back stage to make his pitch, to great applause from the audience.
And he got his chance after the seminar. “I asked if I could become his assistant director. He said ‘Why do you want to be an assistant?’ He advised me I should make my own films. The route people take now is to make short films, so he advised me to shoot my own shorts and put it up on YouTube,” said Nirmal.
In fact, what was supposed to be a masterclass with Mani Ratnam was turned into a fan-club of sorts at BIFFes with some even having to be turned away because the hall was full. One fan stood up and said his name was “Surya Bharathi” and all he wanted was for Mani Ratnam to just say his name once.
Mani and Benne Dose
Mani Ratnam was all praise for the Benne Dose of Hotel Janardhan, in the city. He said coming from the airport his driver suggested to have lunch at Adyar Anand Bhavan. “I told him have come to Karnataka, take me to Kannada restaurant and landed up at Janardhan. The Benne Dose – I did not know what I was getting into. There was more Benne than dose in that,” he quipped.