Union
health minister Anbumani Ramadoss
may have been the butt of ridicule
of the media for various reasons but
this time, he sure has made amends
by announcing that the films with
smoking scenes would get an “A”
certificate. That aside, the concerned
actors will talk about the harmful
effects of tobacco before, during
and after the particular scene. The
minister said that information minister
along with his ministry would soon
chalk out the guidelines for smoking
scenes in films and distribute the
same. He also said that a committee
would be formed to which the producers
can approach in case they feel about
the necessity of a particular scene
involving tobacco. The committee members
are not yet finalized.
All
films with smoking scenes would get ‘A’
certificate. This holds good even for television
serials.
Ramadoss trying to explain the decision
taken by his ministry says that media especially
the films have a very strong influence on
the society especially the younger generation.
The films of yester years had much less
scenes of smoking whereas almost all films
of present days have smoking scenes in them.
He also added that as a member of society,
everyone has a social responsibility and
more so for film stars as films are a religion
by itself in our nation. Film personalities
touch the life of people in different ways.
Hence they should voluntarily come forward
to work for the betterment of the society.
He even cited the example of superstar Rajnikanth
who dropped smoking scenes in Chandramukhi
on his request. When asked if the minister
would like to meet Bollywood personalities
on this issue, he said that he would be
delighted to do that.
Of course, this has not evoked mixed response
from people belonging to different quarters
of life. They feel that such rules are totally
impracticable and people are not going to
be benefited from this. Madhur Bhandarkar,
the Bollywood director feels that even if
Indian movies follow such strict rules,
the ministry cannot do the same for English
movies. To portray a villainous character,
tobacco really helps. Some also feel that
fried items and oily stuff kills more people
than tobacco. But it is not possible to
bring about such guidelines. Anyway, to
what an extent the laws are going to be
enforced will have to waited and seen.
