Bollywood loses sleaze appetite

Sex does not sell in Bollywood anymore. An RTI query has revealed that adult-rated films, from being twice the number of general category films in 2004, fell to about half their count by 2008.According to the data released by the National Board of Film Certification (NBFC), of the 188 movies given certificates in 2004, A-certified films (cut and un-cut) totalled 121, compared to 67 in the U category. While the percentage of sleaze flicks was similar in Tamil and Telugu cinema, Marathi films were a lot more chaste — only 3 of the 37 certified were rated adult. This ratio has kept declining since, barring in 2007, when the difference between the two was just 13. In 2008, however, the number of movies in the U category shot up dramatically, with 93 U-rated films, and 63 marked for adult viewing. RTI activist Chetan Kothari, who had filed the query, said, “It is a good sign, but one needs to explore the reasons behind it. Is it because they are losing audiences, or are their scripts improving, or is it perhaps because there are elements who disrupt screenings of films which have adult content.”National award-winning film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar, whose film Fashion was given an A certificate, has a more sobering explanation. “Fashion released during Diwali, a peak time for the movie business. Though this meant my film could have been an instant hit, people with kids stayed away as it was rated A. Everyone lost money,” Bhandarkar told DNA.“Hence, when I made Jail, I kept in mind that I want a U/A certificate. A lot of money rides on a film, and sometimes you have to do away with creativity. At least your movie reaches the masses who you want to entertain. I agreed to cut scenes, toned down homosexuality and nudity. It was painful for a creative person to do all that, but this is the harsh reality. The moment your film has an A rating, its satellite rights prices dip to almost half of a U/A or U film. Besides, you lose money at the box office. It’s a double whammy which hampers you as a film-maker, and even the producers are affected.”But not all are convinced there is much to be read into the decline. According to Vinayak Azaad, regional officer at the Central Board of Film Certification, “We have different categories, and possibly in that particular year, they made movies that needed that kind of certification. We haven’t really changed any norms either.”Pratiba Naitthani, professor of political science at Xavier’s College, who had filed a PIL against adult movies shown on TV, said, “The censor board has become lenient, and this is why there are more U-certified movies. Movies like Dostana and Ghajini should have been A-rated, but were given a U/A certificate. The television has played a key role. After my PIL, all movies have to get a U/A or a U certificate to be aired on TV. Hence, most producers now go back to the censor board to get the certification changed.”