Barely 48 hours before release, Akhilesh Jaiswal's bio-pic on Hindi porn writer Mastram was finally cleared by the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) with only two minor cuts.
Much relieved producer Sunil Bohra says, "They cleared our film with just two minor cuts, a visual and an audio one."
Apparently the CBFC wanted the word 'badjaat' to be beeped out, which the makers of Mastram happily did.
Says the relieved producer, "Until Tuesday we were not being given a censor clearance. I had started wondering if we'd be able to release our film on time! We finally got what we wanted. We were sure we wanted an 'Adults' certificate. We also knew there was nothing sleazy or vulgar about our film."
If there is nothing suggestive or vulgar in Mastram why all the provocative tantalizing publicity?
Defends Bohra, "Have we shown any nudity or sex in our publicity? We needed to get audiences interested. But we never intended to make Mastram look like a cheesy film. Sadly even the censorboard misunderstood the film's intentions. Let me clarify Mastram is a film men can watch with their wives without squirming ...or squirting."
Rahul Bagga who plays the title role adds, "The censor clearance with just two minor cuts endorses our intentions behind making this film. Mastram is not a cheap sex-driven film. Our intention behind making this film was not to offend society's sentiments. To presume that a film about the life of a porn writer would be pornographic is as fallacious as to presume a film about Valmiki would be a mythological. The man and his art are two separate themes for cinema."
Then Bagga adds mischievously, "Cum, enjoy!"
 |
Comments