‘Now even Aamir Khan is silent’: Vishal Bhardwaj feels ‘hopeless’ about censorship

Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has commented on why he thinks ‘big actors’ like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are ‘silent’ about current affairs in the country. Vishal was discussing a proposed Cinematograph Bill that will allow the Centre to re-examine films that have already been cleared for release by the Central Board of Film Certification.

In an interview with Mojo Story, Vishal Bhardwaj told journalist Barkha Dutt in Hindi, “They’re giving the film medium undue importance. Earlier, Aamir Khan used to say things. Now even he is silent.”

Asked if the film industry has brought this situation upon itself by allowing itself to be pushed around, Vishal said, “Star power exists. People actually listen when they speak. Maybe it’s to divert some attention from some other issue?”

Asked about Shah Rukh Khan, Vishal said, “From what I understand, if Shah Rukh says something and is trolled for it, there are 300 others who are associated with him whose careers will be impacted by it. It will affect the ₹100-200 crore that a producer has invested in a project. Personally, if you meet Shah Rukh, he has his voice, he has his conviction, and he articulates it so beautifully — both Aamir and Shah Rukh — but the fear is that their words will impact the lives of 300 others. If they were solely to be held accountable for their words, I think they would still speak.”

Last month, the Centre came out with the draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 seeking comments from the general public, including one provision which allows power to re-examine films that have been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The proposal has irked several filmmakers, including Sudhir Mishra, Anurag Kashyap, Hansal Mehta, Nandita Das, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee among others.

Also read: Sudhir Mishra on proposed changes to Cinematograph Act: Will be absurd comedy which will be tragic for filmmakers

Vishal said that in the aftermath of the Tandav controversy, his series about the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 was canned by a streaming platform.