Creative people don't like to be made conscious of their work, says Prasoon Joshi

Ever since Prasoon Joshi was announced as the new Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief, all eyes are on him. But the new chief is excited about making the most of it. In a first full-fledged interview, Prasoon opens up about his expectations from the new role, a few ground roles that he wants to follow, what constitutes “liberal” and a lot more.

Let’s start at the beginning. Were you expecting to be appointed the chairperson of the CBFC? What was your reaction to the new responsibility?
I was on a flight when the announcement was made and was deluged with messages and calls as soon as I landed. From my perspective, this responsibility requires a collaborative approach.

There is widespread speculation as to the changes that are likely to happen in the running of the CBFC. Please shed light on what ground rules you would like to follow.
What can I say about speculations? Of course, suggestions that come from thinking minds can provide insight. As far as frameworks are concerned, as an industry we operate as one and as part of the eco-system so does the CBFC, where there are current guidelines, my attempt would be to guide and view the work holistically.

Your predecessor Pahlaj Nihalani made many unpopular decisions on behalf of the CBFC. Do you see yourself as reversing some of the negative image that the CBFC has acquired lately?
Pahlaj is a senior member of the industry. It would not be fair to comment on his tenure. Also, I think the focus should not be on whether a decision is popular but whether it’s a sound one. Progress cannot be done in isolation.

Producers expect you to be ‘liberal’, as they define liberal, meaning they think under your stewardship the CBFC will provide certification to films without cuts. Please clarify.
I understand that creative people don’t like to be made overtly conscious of their work through checks and balances.

But surely every progressive culture needs to restrain itself?
I agree. Most of the time internal checks develop organically in the community. I would like to be guided by that principle.

While the popular liberal view stipulates that the CBFC only certify films, I&B guidelines suggest that scenes and shots that are “objectionable” be pruned. How do you look at this dichotomy between what should be and what is?
There are views that there should only be certification of content and the decision to decide what’s appropriate or good or inappropriate should be left to the audience. This view I can understand but we all also know that its a layered and complex society we live in with not all having the same information and sensibility filters.

To begin with we need to ensure that those not in an empowered state or situation to decide, are also taken note of. Say for example children. It’s about the power of informed choice. And for that to come into complete play its important that there are no gaps about the kind of content being presented. We need to work towards any goal with awareness and responsibility from all ends.