‘Adipurush’ Row Aside, 56% Moviegoers Feel Censor Board Ineffective in Assigning Correct Film Certification

Amid a controversy over foul language used in the much-hyped movie ‘Adipurush’, a survey showed that 56 percent moviegoers felt that the censor board was ineffective in assigning correct certification. At least 76 percent of those who believe this have issues with ‘U’ or ‘U/A’ certification.

According to a survey conducted by community platform LocalCircles, 14 percent of those who regularly watch films said the censor board was “very effective” while 25 percent felt it was “somewhat effective”.

‘Adipurush’, which was supposed to be a depiction of Ramayana, has attracted harsh criticism within days of its worldwide release. The film was reportedly cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), or the censor board, without a single cut and got a ‘U’ certification.

It opened to a massive box office response but, in just two days, the audience has dipped by around 70 percent. In fact, a moviegoer commented on Twitter: “It is worth considering how the Censor Board of India works? What is the criteria to pass their films? Does match fixing happen here too?”

Similarly, in the case of ‘The Kerala Story’, which is about religious conversion of missing women from Kerala being used for terrorist activities, some viewers felt that the CBFC had not done a rigorous job.

Times may have changed but parents are still not keen to expose young and impressionable minds to unnecessary gore, foul language or topics deemed unsuitable for growing children.

The survey was based on posts and comments received on the outputs of the film censor board in India. It was conducted to understand an average view of people on the censor board’s effectiveness and areas where they believe there are gaps.

At least 56 percent respondents indicated that the CBFC is ineffective in assigning correct certification to movies. This was in response to a question based on their experience in the last five years and how effective they considered the censor board when it comes to certifying films.

Data shows that while 14 percent of moviegoers feel that the CBFC is “very effective”, 25 percent feel it is “somewhat effective”. But, 31 percent feel the film certification body is “very ineffective”.

At least 76 percent of respondents indicated that they have a number of issues with movies given ‘U’ and ‘U/A’ certification. The survey sought to know why a large percentage of moviegoers found the CBFC ineffective. It asked them questions based on their experience of watching movies in the last five years and the categories of classification they had issues with.

Data shows that at least 7 percent of respondents have reservations about movies awarded ‘U’ certification, while 27 percent have issues with films given ‘U/A’ certification or those to be seen with parental guidance. A large chunk of 42 percent feel this way about all such movies, while 17 percent said they do not have any of the above issues.

The survey shows that a large number of people are looking for content they can watch as a family, which is U-rated and provides “clean” entertainment. But barring a few exceptions, there is rarely such content available where they feel “lines have not been crossed”. The CBFC appears to clearly have limited trust among moviegoers with many thinking that they do not assign correct certification. While the experts on the censor board are clearly liberal, a majority of the audience is not ready for content rated ‘U/A’.

In addition, in households where three generations are living and watching movies together, vulgar or objectionable content with excessive violence and mature themes is not acceptable. The issue gains even more importance considering that the central government is planning to bring OTT and digital platforms under some kind of certification norms.