Entertainment industry warned by the government on publicizing smoking in Bollywood…

In continuation to my previous blog, I read this article written by Manisha Almadi, for Delhi Times, Times of India on 18th June 2005 regarding the statutory warning from the government, to ban smoking scenes from Indian movies as well as teleserials from 21st October 2005. The Hindi film industry did not appreciate it as it would now interfere with the total look and feel of the character they wish to portray in their movies. Some of the directors raised their voice against this statutory warning laid down by the government. Mahesh Bhatt a senior and ace filmmaker refutes that “this is outrageous; it's an absurd ruling in today's age." Actor-director Rahul Bose says that “this is a very narrow-minded decision on the government's part and that the ban will curb the creative expression of filmmakers and actors.” Director Madhur Bhandarkar argues that “what's the point in banning smoking scenes in Bollywood when people can watch actors smoking in Hollywood films?” he further states that his movies Page 3 and Corporate wouldn't have been possible without showing business tycoons smoking and drinking.
Actor Aman Verma rationalizes “How can one justify the character of a chain-smoker on screen without showing cigarettes? Would Devdas an award winning movie have been possible without showing Shah Rukh Khan smoking and drinking?” he also says that “the government should mind its own business; it should look at more important issues like the country's population and economy.” However director Mahesh Bhatt does feel that the government shouldn’t have imposed the ban on the fraternity they should have communicated with the industry and come to an amicable solution, while director Ajay Sinha feels that the film industry could screen 'smoking is injurious to health' warnings before showing actors smoking. Actresses Neha Dhupia and Mandira Bedi do understand the governments ban as they sense that smoking on screen is not the right thing for an audience that is so gullible and would emulate their favourite celebrities.

Although I agree with Ajay Sinha and feel that if a character demands a certain look and smoking is a part of his mannerisms it should be carried out, however the audience must be cautioned about the ill effects of smoking. I advocate that the ill effects of smoking should be communicated to the mass audience that is likely to emulate, during the publicity of the film before and after its release.

Promoting smoking in Indian cinema is injurious to health…

In India, Bollywood actors are not just admired and awed but they are worshiped and idolized. In a country where majority of the population lacks primary education, cannot differentiate between fact and fiction. Most of the cinema is fiction, we know that, but most under educated and surprisingly even some educated audience believe the cinema they see. Recently a survey done by
World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that an overwhelming majority of Hindi films represent some form of tobacco use, and that three-fourths of top-rated films send out a message to the youth that smoking is a fashionable lifestyle option. "Smoking in the movies is a powerful motivation for young people to copy their cine screen idols" cautions Dr Uton Muchtar Rafei, Regional Director for the World Health Organisation South-East Asia Region.
He further emphasizes that given the popularity of Bollywood films in other countries of the South Asian subcontinent, the Middle East and Africa, these films tend to send out a strong pro-smoking message to millions of impressionable youth across the globe. The study further reveals how 80% of the over 400 films studied show some form of tobacco use. "It is estimated that in India alone, 15 million people see Indian films everyday. Around 76% of the top-rated films portray smoking as the "cool" thing to do. Whether it is done consciously at the behest of the tobacco industry or unwittingly, Bollywood cannot afford to ignore its potential in curbing the tobacco epidemic any further, says Ambika Srivastava, President, Strategic Mediawork who conducted the study on behalf of WHO. Dr S.J. Habayeb, WHO Country Representative of India adds that "the glamorization of smoking by Indian film stars, both on and off the screen, unfortunately, generates pro-tobacco cues in the audiences. He said that the study reveals a growing trend in the portrayal of smoking in films as a trendy and healthy lifestyle option. "This is especially worrisome in this country where over 800,000 people die annually due to tobacco related diseases. Besides, the number of people who suffer from tobacco-related illness is even higher." Showing and promoting a lead character smoking in Bollywood movies is very usual today, as opposed to in the past where only the villain smoked and had bad habits that one must not emulate. However what is really the responsibility of filmmakers – to worry about the character they are creating or whether the audience emulates a bad habit portrayed by the character?

Is Social Responsibility in Bollywood just another PR stunt?

So here I am, once again creating a new blog on Bollywood and public relations. Since I was a child I have been very passionate about Hindi films and the mammoth Indian Film Industry – popularly known as “Bollywood”.
Bollywood has always intrigued me, urging me to learn more and more about the functioning of the industry. I was always drawn towards the communication side of Bollywood, and the passion towards Bollywood only got stronger when I joined a celebrity, fashion and lifestyle magazine ‘Hi Blitz’ in Mumbai, where the Indian Film Industry is based. Working for the magazine I had to often interact with many well-known and not so well know celebrities and PR’s in Bollywood. What was fascinating was to know how a PR sometimes seemed to have more power than the celebrities themselves.
This blog is an attempt to get closer to my dissertation topic, which is exploring the extent to which Public Relations is replacing advertising in Bollywood.

However, I am deviating and want to explore the extent to which Bollywood takes on social responsibility to make a difference to the nation and the world. Do celebrities that fight for a cause really want to make a difference to our country which is fighting so many social issues as of today or is it just another PR stunt before the release of their film? The trend of filmmakers making cinema that have a social message, is it because they really care or is it just to win the next critic award? Social responsibility in Bollywood has been questioned and debated on more than one occasion, and very often it just seems like another PR stunt. However I disagree and do believe that most celebrities or filmmakers that invest so much time, money and energy do it because they feel for it… but can we know for sure?