Censorship has no place in a democracy: Adoor

GUWAHATI: Master filmmaker and Padma Vibhushan awardee Adoor Gopalakrishnan on Monday strongly objected to censorship in the country and termed it 'redundant'.

Speaking at an interactive session with the media on Monday, the director said censorship has no validity in a democratic country.

On Sunday evening, Gopalakrishnan was conferred the second Bishwaratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award 2015. The award, an initiative of Asom Sahitya Sabha, in association with Numaligarh Refinery Limited, honours cultural and literary icons who contribute to society. The director was presented the award by chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

Gopalakrishnan denounced censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani's recent decision to ban cuss words in films, terming the move 'ludicrous'. Nihalani had proposed to include the word 'Bombay' in the list of words to be banned.

"I am against censorship. It is a redundant practice. People should decide what to watch and what not to watch. We are a democratic society and such practices are adopted in countries like China. The list of banned cuss words being passed around by the censor board chief is simply ludicrous," he said.

Gopalakrishnan rued that creativity is increasingly being sacrificed at the altar of commercialization and profit.

The filmmaker, who is considered to be one of the finest in the world, expressed his disapproval of the excessive use of violence in some Indian films. He said Indian filmmakers often depict violence to imitate Hollywood trends.

"Parents should discourage children from watching such films. Simply imitating Hollywood is a mistake. American society is quite violent and this is reflected in their movies, but Indian society is not that violent. We still value morality and non-violence. There should be some kind of sensitization at the school-level and children should be encouraged to watch good movies," the director added.

Often credited with changing cinema in his home state of Kerala, Gopalakrishnan urged the state government to execute a clear policy of promoting quality cinema.

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Censorship has no place in a democracy: Adoor