South Asia Censorship News

Poetry and literature will have to be approved by the Maldivian government before they are published in the country, according to a new law which have been described as a disaster for freedom of expression by free speech campaigners.

The rules insist that those wishing to publish books in the Maldives must submit a finished copy of their work, along with a form and a MVR50 revenue stamp, to the national bureau of classification for approval, or face fines. This includes poetry, which is defined by the regulations as: w

Words and phrases structured into verses that fit a particular form, expressing thoughts and ideas that are heartfelt.

One strand of publication is exempted from the requirements:

...any writing published to circulate information among its members/employees by a political party, civil society group, company, or specific governmental body.

The book censors will be looking to ensure: That the works published in the Maldives do not contravene Islamic principles, the laws and regulations of the Maldives and societal etiquette , and to reduce adverse effects on society that could be caused by published literature . They will also, according to the translation, respect the constitutional right to freedom of expression and allow novel and constructive ideas .

According to Minivan News, following a social media outcry, the Maldivian youth and sports ministry has stated that the rules would not apply to either social media or news outlets.

Pakistan's government is formulating a policy for online media, incorporating all restrictive provisions of the recently approved National Broadcast Policy.

Like the broadcast policy, the draft online policy seeks a ban or more or less everything. In particular:

Publishing inconsistent and misleading information and data. No information and data can be published or broadcast demeaning the armed forces, law enforcement agencies and government officials who can sentence people for criminal offences.

The online media cannot publish information and data that may spark separatism and unrest or create hatred among people of different castes, creeds and religions, or may satirise national ideals, undermine people and harm the unity and solidarity of the country, intrude on privacy, impede state security and hurt religious values and non-communal spirit.

The draft seeks a ban on publishing anything indecent that might affect children's psyche or something that might encourage harassment and violence against women and children.

The online media is not allowed to publish photographs and footage of murders and dead bodies that hurt human feelings. Besides, there will be a ban on publishing abusive and terrorising photographs and videos of local and foreign films which militate against the culture of the country, according to the draft.

The conditions and restrictions relating to advertisements in the draft online policy are also similar to those of the broadcast policy:

It puts restrictions on online publication of any information or advertisements that might hamper friendly relations with foreign countries or may cause conflict with a friendly state.

Moreover, the online media will not be allowed to publish any advertisements, containing language and scenes that may hurt political and religious sentiment. No photographs or video footage of mosques, temples and churches can be used in advertisements for commercial purposes.

At present, anyone can launch a website and put information, photographs, video or audio clips there. Many government officials, especially deputy commissioners (DCs), have been pressing for a policy to impose restrictions on such online media workings.

The revising committee of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has cleared the Hollywood comedy, Sex Tape , giving it an adults only A certificate.

The committee asked the film's distributors to cut around 10 minutes' footage from the film. Committee chairman Nandini Sardesai said:

Several scenes shown before the title of the film feature frontal nudity and blatant sexual intercourse which was definitely not beautiful; we have asked distributors to cut them out.

The distributors were armed with a proper self-censorship sheet and they even offered to cut more scenes if needed. We have already pointed out the deletions and they have agreed to carry them out.

The film was previosuly set for release in India in the first week of August. But last month, the examining committee of the CBFC denied the film a certificate due to its adult content.

India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has banned another film dealing with the turbulence of 1984. Dilli 1984 , based on the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, has not been certified on the grounds that the board could not even suggest cuts as the entire film was disturbing.

The film was screened before the board on August 14 and was denied a certificate four days later.

The film's director Ashok Gupta, said:

We had kept the film very close to the reality and showed the truth which apparently was uncomfortable.

In the latest blow for free speech, the government of the southern Indian state of Karnataka has passed legislation that makes it illegal to upload, share, or like content with a view to hurt religious sentiments knowingly or unknowingly .

Back in June, Karnataka police warned citizens about the type of things that were covered by the Information Technology Act:

Citizens are warned not to upload, modify, resend (forward) and like (share) malicious or misleading images, videos and messages through any medium with a view to hurt religious sentiments knowingly or unknowingly. Citizens are encouraged to inform the Police Control Room at...

New legislation, the lengthily named Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-offenders, Gamblers, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Slum-Grabbers and Video or Audio Pirates (Amendment) Bill, 2014, means that citizens can now actually be arrested if they have even committed an offence under the Information Technology Act.

Kaum De Heere is a 2014 India drama by Ravinder Ravi
Starring R aj Kakra , Gurpreet Ghuggi , and Rahul Devi

India has banned the release of a film based on the assassination of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, after complaints it glorified her killers. The film, Kaum De Heere , (Real Heroes), had been scheduled for release on Friday.

It tells the story of Ms Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards who shot her dead apparently to avenge her decision to send troops in a deadly raid on the Golden Temple. Sikhs say thousands were murdered when the army entered Sikhism's holiest shrine in Amritsar to flush out militants. Mrs Gandhi's assassination triggered an outburst of communal violence targeted at Sikhs and more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in attacks across India.

Officials of the home and information and broadcasting ministries and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) saw the film again and deemed it not fit for release. Chief film censor Leela Samson said after a review of the movie:

We saw the film and decided that it must not be released.

The home ministry earlier voiced serious concern at the content of the Punjabi film, and asked the I&B ministry to take a relook at its clearance. It said the Punjabi-language film Kaum De Heere may affect communal harmony in Punjab and other northern states.

There were reports that CBFC CEO Rakesh Kumar, who was arrested by the CBI recently for corruption, had previously cleared the film after allegedly taking Rs 100,000.

The Congress Party - which Indira Gandhi led - had previously threatened to carry out protests if the film was released and the party's youth wing also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for the film to be banned, saying it presented her assassins as heroes.

In the UK, the film was passed 15 uncut for strong bloody violence.

Update: Censored whilst claiming to be uncensored

25th August 2014. See article from totalfilmy.com

After Kaum De Heere was banned the producer of controversial film has threatened to take legal action against the censor board. The producers say, the prohibition is not justified given that it is based on true incidents, as per the findings of the Justice Thakkar Commission that had probed the assassination. Moreover, contrary to media reports the film does not portray the killers as heroes but presents the actual chain of events and give biographical accounts of Satwant, Beant and Kehar Singh.

Satish Katiyal stated:

We are consulting our lawyer. First, we will file a case against the censor board. We will go to court and then we will go to public. There is nothing controversial in the film. The Centre has banned the film due to political pressure. It is a rumour that we bribed to get our film cleared from censor board.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 USA / Germany / UK comedy by Wes Anderson.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, F Murray Abraham and Mathieu Amalric.

GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

The guardian of Indian innocence and sensibility, the Censor Board, has edited a little more than four minutes off Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel even though the film was awarded an adults only 'A' rating.

One of the montages that has been cut establishes that the film's flamboyant hero and the hotel's head concierge Gustave H as a womaniser. The deleted shot shows Gustave delicately eating grapes while getting a blow job.

The lengthiest cut in the Indian version of Anderson's film has absolutely no reference to anything even vaguely sexual. It involves four convicts, one concierge, some dessert, hatching a cunning plan for a jail break.

The plotting is cut along with a scene in which the convicts stay up past the official bedtime to dig through the cement floor of their cell with smuggled in tools .

Presumably the escape plan is a good one as the Indian authorities presumably fear that is could be using in Indian prisons.

Filmmakers from Bengal, who have releases lined up in the coming months, are in a spot of bother.

The advisory committee of the regional censor board was dissolved at the beginning of July. Not only is there a colossal backlog, no film can be censored before another panel is set up. A source explained:

On July 1, the committee was dissolved as panel members were not available. Till further notification from the I&B ministry, the new committee cannot be formed.

A committee can only be formed after the I&B ministry sends a notification to the Central Board of Film Certification and from there, the message is communicated to regional offices. No regional office can enrol new members without informing the ministry.

The panel included 90 members and the least number required during a film's screening is just four. But the lack of available panelists may be down to a dispute with filmmakers. Krishna Daga, vice-president Eastern India Motion Pictures Association said:

Many filmmakers are complaining against the regional censor board officials; most say their films are unnecessarily sent to the revising committee. I am planning to send the written complaints to Rakesh Kumar, CEO, CBFC.

Update: Crisis! Not enough censors in Kerala

28th July 2014. See article from newindianexpress.com

The filmmakers in Kerala have to walk a fine line to get their films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which has insufficient members. Since last month, the number of members has come down to 10, which was around 65 before.

As per the guidelines, a panel of five members should be present for every sitting (censoring). Of that, one member should be the examining officer and two members should be females. Now, there are only two members, Shahida Kamal and Bindu Balakrishnan, available to attend the censoring of every movie that comes before the Board.

The female members are supposed to assess the content of the movies, and object if there are any scenes that portray women in a derogatory manner. According to a source, currently, the censoring of movies is being done according to the availability of the two members:

If any of the two members is not able to attend the screening the whole procedure would be affected. It is mandatory that two female representatives should be present for every screening.

According to M Jacob Abraham, examining officer at CBFC, procedures for selecting new members have now started.

Nominations for 55 new members have been sent to the Ministry. They will be posted soon after the procedures are completed:

Update: Crisis! Not enough censors other states too

28th July 2014. See article from timesofindia.indiatimes.com

With the regional offices of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) lying virtually defunct in Kolkata, filmmakers from the whole of the eastern region are facing hurdles in getting censor certificates to facilitate release of their new films.

The advisory panels have been dissolved in Guwahati, Cuttack, Bangalore, Trivandrum and Chennai too with effect from July 1.

Only Mumbai and Hyderabad are functioning, said regional officer B Ganopadhyay. This was confirmed by CBFC chairperson Leela Samson who is amazed that filmmakers are not protesting about this grave issue .

Sex Tape is a 2014 USA comedy by Jake Kasdan.
Starring Jason Segel, Cameron Diaz and Rob Corddry.

Summary Notes

A married couple wake up to discover that the sex tape they made the evening before has gone missing, leading to a frantic search for its whereabouts.

UK: rated 15 uncut for strong sex references, sex, very strong language, drug use

US: Rated R (17) for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use.

India: The film was banned by the CBFC in July 2014

A source from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) says, Owing to excess vulgarity in the film, we have decided to not certify the film.

A former member of the board says:

Hollywood films are usually viewed as 'more corruptible' than Hindi films and they get rejected for their overt sexual content and brutal violence. But in the case of Hindi films, producers get away with a lot more.

Also, Hollywood films that have sexually provocative themes or titles tend to bear the brunt. It is a knee-jerk reaction and is not the right way to certify films. Why shouldn't an adult film be cleared with an A certificate? Aren't 18-year-olds mature enough to watch films with sexual or violent content?

The director of an Indian investigative documentary that tracks the events leading to the Muzaffarnagar riots last year and is anti-BJP in tone, said the West Bengal government's decision to cancel the film's screening at a state-run cultural centre reflects its refusal to take on the BJP .

The Muzzafarnagar riots in Uttar Pradesh last year left nearly 40 people dead according to some estimates, and over 50,000 homeless.

The documentary En Dino Muzaffarnagar by filmmaker Shubhradeep Chakravorty and Meera Chaudhury explores how the BJP swung the caste differences between the Jats and Muslims, in their favour to garner maximum votes in alliance with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), right before the crucial Lok Sabha elections in May this ye ar .

The documentary which was rejected by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), but screened at Mumbai's Prithvi Theatre in April, was scheduled for a showing at Kolkata's Charukala Bhavan in July.