Censor Board can give nightmares says noted filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor

After a lot of Censor Board hurdles, Nagesh Kukunoor’s Lakshmi is finally in the clear. The movie was initially slated for a January 17 release but was delayed as the Board found a lot of scenes objectionable.
Speaking about it, Nagesh says, “I feel that there have to be guidelines put in place which will help filmmakers and the Censor Board members to be clear on what to expect. With no guidelines, the filmmaker is always tensed. There is always an uncertainty that puts you on edge,” he says.
“I thank my stars that this time things went well with me and with a few changes in the dialogues, it was cleared by the Censor Board,” he adds. Asked whether he got agitated because the film’s release was delayed, he agrees and promptly says, “Yes, it’s frustrating and I was agitated because my plan was to be there for the Censor Board screening before I left for the Palms Springs International Film Festival. But that didn’t happen and for almost three weeks I didn’t get a slot from the committee to screen the movie, thus the postponement of release.”

“In foreign countries if you get an adult rating it means that the film will be shown without cuts and edits but in India it’s different. Even if you get an ‘A’ rating, they will ask the filmmaker to delete scenes and chop dialogues,” he adds. About the Board having a problem with a dialogue in the trailer of the movie: “Machine mei tel daal, factory kholna hai”, Nagesh says, “I feel that it has to be looked with the context; dialogues or lines should not be taken standalone because then there is no sense. But I am not here to titillate the audiences.” Nagesh also has a message for the Censor Board: “There are some subjects which are difficult to touch but that doesn’t mean that those subjects go untouched. One has to learn to deal with difficult topics too.”