Professional Report - Smoke Free Movies

holding a cigarette, the Censor Board goes ‘cut.’ People are not – youth understand things. We shouldn’t glorify
this.”
- Saurabh Shukla, screenwriter-actor
“Censors should not be fanatical about it, sometimes you have to show characters who smoke and the fact
remains that people smoke in society. So if you’re portraying such characters once in a while…In Company,
Ajay Devgan who gave a very good performance, he was smoking…that’s ok.”
- Javed Akhtar, screenwriter and lyricist
“Tobacco is bad but sometimes it is required for a scene. If you stop showing such things then you might as
well have a police state telling people what to do and what not to do. And then they will definitely indulge in
such (smoking) activities!”
- Dev Anand, actor-director
“If you put a blanket ban and do not talk about awareness and sensitisation and say this cannot be allowed, that cannot
be allowed….it doesn’t work. These are examples which should be used as points of discussion, not as points of
objection. Because then you will get them to harden their attitude. Anybody would rebel. Who are you to tell me what I
can show and what I can’t. Let’s discuss them – if there are things that I haven’t noticed, ok let’s talk about it….I feel the
process of change should be more organic, gradual, rather than imposing a set of rules….you impose rules and it
comes back in very insidious ways.”
- Anjum Rajabali, screenwriter
7.3.9 Advocacy on tobacco portrayal
What is the filmmaker’s personal opinion about tobacco consumption? Most admit that they have never really
given it a thought. Even when it comes to portrayal of tobacco on screen, it’s an instinctive, “on-the-spur-of-themoment”
kind of a decision rather than a thought-out action. On a personal level, many of them are nonsmokers
today; while few have never smoked; most have given up due to “health reasons” after years of
smoking. The attitude is: “I don’t smoke any more but I don’t mind if anybody else does.” However one celebrity
admits that tobacco has been responsible for the death of a couple of his close associates. Many filmmakers
are open to the idea of incorporating anti-smoking messages in films.
“Freedom is if I am immoral, illegal and fat. But if you’re immoral or illegal, you will be punished. But this
(smoking) is a question of health…you’ll eventually be punished by nature. This is in your hands. There can’t
be a law against it….
I also started smoking and it’s only in the last five years that I have given up smoking. I used to hate the fact
that I was smoking…it was the only weakness that I had. I started smoking during my Film Institute days as I
felt that smoking promotes a person’s creative evolvement. Which is definitely not true, but that’s how I felt in
those days. As a filmmaker, writer, director, dramatist, I can tell you that this is a myth. It’s your youth that
makes you believe that you can do anything and get away with it. It’s only later that it starts telling on your
health. But after 40, the body punishes you for all those things that you have done between 15 and 30. You
have to pay the price, after 45.
I remember among my dearest and most talented colleagues, Laxmikant and Anand Bakshi, were geniuses
and survived in the industry because of their work for 30-35 years. Anand Bakshi wrote 6,000 songs.
Laxmikant too did a great job but I could always see that they repented after 40, that they had this addiction to
tobacco. They used to chew tobacco. Both of them could have lived for another 15 years and would have done
great work, could contribute their talent and art to the nation if they had not chewed tobacco. As a personal
friend, I know that they died because of tobacco chewing. They could have lived another 15 years…Look at
Dilip Kumar. He is 79, he still walks faster than many youngsters, faster than me. Even Dev Anand…he is not a
92