Orissa Cinema

Is Ollywood in dire need of moral pundits and censor boards? Will the creativity of latest genre of lyricists and composers be affected by the way their freedoms are restricted? Or are they simply abusing the liberties while pretending their works to be reflections of society at large?

The answers may be more complicated than they appear. Perhaps, we need a censor board not just for films and music, but also for the way the society is conducting itself in the current political anarchy. However for now, some leading film personalities are holding our cinema culture responsible.

In the latest round, the Orissa Cine Critic Association has criticized the vulgarity in Oriya cinema and music. In a seminar organized in Bhubaneswar, the Association has proposed that tax rebate should only be made available to original Oriya films and not remakes. It has also proposed that a censor board to screen music should be immediately formed comprising lyricists, composers, music critics, etc., while a similar censor committee should keep tabs on the video albums keeping in view the vulgarity of costumes, poses and lyrics. Subsequent to this, CDs cleared by the committee can only be telecast in various channels including the Door Darshan.

In this regard, a memorandum has been submitted to the State Culture Minister to act on. “It is now the time of remakes and remixes. Oriya cinema and music have been vitiated by crass commercialization because of some dubious elements. The vulgarity and banality is crossing all limits,” according to the association. Included among those who advocate for the censor boards are filmmaker Prashant Nanda, musician Prafulla Kar and actor George Tiadi. Cine critic association secretary Dillip Hali, highlighting the steps being taken in Maharashtra, asked the Government to come up with remedial measures immediately in the light of the memorandum presented. The event was organized in collaboration with the cultural outfit `Sanskruti O Sanskruti’.