India's first music video on same-sex love, Miss You, which was released in September by Delhi-based gay band Friends of Linger, was given an 'A' certification by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on 5th October.
India's first music video on same-sex love, Miss You, which was released in September by Delhi-based gay band Friends of Linger, was given an 'A' certification by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on 5th October.
After applying for a review on the certification, the video again was given an 'A' certificate and in a letter addressed to the band, it was mentioned that only if the makers "delete the intimate visuals" in the video a U/A certificate will be granted.
According to Sharif D Rangnekar, founder of Friends of Linger, "It is a completely unfair and bias decision. The country has way more intimate scenes in heterosexual videos than this video."
"We have been asked to make a cut. However, the video is available online. One can clearly see that in 'Miss You' there is neither a kiss or a hug or any love making. What's the issue? It's a ten-second shot leading to separation and not some scene that you see in so much of Hindi content on TV," he says.
Rangnekar further says, "There is a lot of alternate cinema across the world particularly Europe and China where same-sex love has been depicted in different forms. Having said that, there is no specific record stating that certificate any of the films may have got."
Pahlaj Nihalani, Chairperson of CBFC, in a recent interview said, 'The board had no problem or concern about the gender of the two people in love and that no cuts were made on the basis of the gender of the people involved in it.' However, the chairperson also alleged that all of this was a hue and cry to gain publicity. Rangnekar denies and says, "The video is already in the top of gay charts. Even with a U/A certificate we cannot air the
video on TV."
When DNA tried to contact Nihalani, even after several attempts, he remained unavailable for comments.
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