Film Criticism – The Power Of The Common Man

It was always thought that the Censor Board has the final word as far the chopping and changing of a film’s scenes are concerned. However, 2013 has shown that even films cleared by the Censor Board aren’t safe from being targeted. The 3 major films that come to mind are Vishwaroopam, Thalaivaa and Kalimannu, all for different reasons but the effect was same.

Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam was the biggest controversy of the year with the film facing strong opposition from Muslim outfits regarding the depiction a few terrorist scenes in the film. Such was the height of the issue that Kamal was on the verge of even leaving the country as he was reportedly about to get bankrupt due to the delay in release. Film had released on schedule everywhere except in the major market TN. Film ultimately released late and yet managed to become a blockbuster. Thalaiva was another film that faced issues with release with the political flavor of the film not going down well with

the ruling parties. Like Vishwaroopam, even this film released worldwide as schedule except in TN where the release got delayed. Like the Tamil Industry, the Malayalam industry too faced a similar issue with ” with a section of the society protesting against the live shoot of a delivery.

With all such issues coming up despite a clearance from the Censor Board, it’s becoming clear the people outside the film fraternity are questioning a film’s dignity. What adds salt to the wounds is a latest ruling which if imposed could mean that any person can protest legally against a film on proper grounds. If this rule comes into place, we could well have a mountain of complaints and delayed releases in future.One hopes that people let cinema to be cinema rather than mixing it with other fields.