Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, M Venkaiah Naidu, spoke at the ‘Meet the Minister’ programme organised by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, in Chennai. He expressed his concerns about cinema today, promising to work on the rampant video piracy in South India.
The minister was concerned about the obscenity and violence in today’s films as compared to the films of the earlier generations. “What is happening is slowly, in certain cases, violence, obscenity, vulgarity and vulgar double meaning dialogues… they are also now becoming part of certain sections of cinema which is not a healthy thing,” he said.
Naidu also promised the ministry’s support in finding a solution to piracy, in response to Kabali‘s producer, Thanu’s endeavours in that direction. Last week, Thanu had filed a petition at the Madras High Court seeking that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issue instructions to all service providers to block (approximately) 180 websites offering illegal download of Kabali. “We (Centre) will take all efforts to address the problems of the film industry. I know video piracy is a major concern of the film industry and we will address it for sure,” the Minister said.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting tweeted a snippet of the Minister’s speech on preserving “family values” and India’s culture in films.
“Indian Cinema needs to promote family values & Indian culture in Indian Cinema”. Shri @MVenkaiahNaiduhttps://t.co/kvCRGdc80c
— MIB India (@MIB_India) July 18, 2016
Naidu also spoke of the recent row between the makers of Udta Punjab and CBFC Chief Pahlaj Nihalani’s censorship norms, and said that he would refer to the recommendations of the Shyam Benegal committee’s to gain a better perspective on censorship. He added that messages in films and media should be “development-oriented, peace-oriented social harmony oriented”.
Photo credits: Press Trust of India
