Censor board behaving like the Taliban: Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj

Mumbai, March 21: His unabashed use of abuses and rustic lingo in his films has always added to the power of his cinema. National Award winning filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has reacted strongly to diktats on film content, saying that the Central Board of Film Certification is behaving like the Taliban and that the body should be "chopped off". In an interview with IANS, the multi-talented Bhardwaj - a writer, singer, composer, director and producer - spoke uninhibitedly about the curb on filmmakers' creativity. The debate on censorship guidelines has been on for a long time, but it was a list of cuss words to be banned from films - as suggested by the CBFC under filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani's chairmanship - that added fuel to the fire. Bhardwaj says that while Indian films are "moving towards international recognition", the government should exercise a limit on the CBFC's power to curb the "art form" that is cinema.