Smoking the Smoke Out

(This piece was written on June 15 evening after watching the news on T.V. This is an instant reaction to the order by Information & Broadcasting Ministry of Government of India.)

Here comes one more autocratic diktat from the UPA govt., which is functioning like we are still living in 19th century and moving towards 18th century.

As per the orders of the I&B ministry of GOI, no Indian movie made after October 2, 2005 can feature any character smoking any tobacco product, apart from historical ones. And the movies made till now when being screened has to run a warning scroll about the tobacco products.

Hats off to the govt. for this regressive step. Tomorrow it may tell the filmwallas that what dialogues should be mouthed by the characters and day after tomorrow, there may be a govt. committee writing scripts for hundreds of movies produced every year in this country.

This funny order not only curbs the right to freedom of expression but also tries to stifle the liberal forms of art, which is essential part of any modern democratic society (and one supposes that at least Dr. Anbumani Ramdoss & Mr. S. Jaipal Reddy are a part of modern society along with lesser mortals like us & movie people.)

This foolish order will not only affect the authenticity of characters in our movies but will also become a precedent for other orders of greater stupidity. All this may have dangerous repercussions for our fledgling film industry, which is a cornerstone of India's soft power.

However, there is no denying that tobacco and related products are fatal for humans and definitely a menace in India but solutions of this kind are not going to be effective. There must be some better solutions, which can be found. And if the govt. is really, so much earnest & careful about tobacco's harmful effects, why doesn't it just shut up the companies and completely ban the products themselves thus ensuring a tobacco free nation. But it can't, for it will spell a revenue loss.

Well, this decision is only a starting, lets see what follows.