A recent circular issued by the I&B Ministry (Information and Broadcast),which directs filmmakers to insert a disclaimer about the evils of smoking throughout the entire scene when an actor is shown smoking on screen, has not gone down well with filmmakers.
It now seems that filmmakers such as Mukesh Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt, Madhur Bhandarkar, Sudhir Mishra and Siddharth Roy Kapur are planning to form a delegation and meet the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni in New Delhi soon.
An irate Mukesh Bhatt was quoted saying that though they have no objections about displaying a disclaimer before the start of the film and once after the interval, they find it ridiculous to display a disclaimer condemning smoking during the entire length of the scene. Apart from the smoking disclaimer, the filmmakers might also discuss other issues like objection to broadcasting of movies like The Dirty Picture and Jannat 2 on national television during prime time.
