From A to Zzzz...

The flood of violent and sleazy Kannada films is sure to keep discerning movie buffs out of theatres, warn Censor Board officials

From A to Zzzz...

The flood of violent and sleazy Kannada films is sure to keep discerning movie buffs out of theatres, warn Censor Board officials

Over the past one year, every other Kannada film is being released with either an A or a UA rating. Faced with a slew of films that overdose on violence, adult themes and bold subjects, the Central Board of Film Certification regional office finds itself handing out more A and UA ratings than ever before.u00a0

The Censor Board certified 73 films from January to April this year, of which 7 got A (Adults), 19 got UA (Universal with Adult guidance) and 47 got U (Universal or Unrestricted) ratings, according to CBFC regional officer A Chandrashekhar.u00a0 While Hattrick Hodi Maga, Machcha, Seena and Junglee were given A ratings, Nanda and Birugaali got U/A ratings.


Guns and roses: Nicolette Bird and Shivarajkumar in Hattrick Hodi Maga	The road to love runs rough: Jeevan and Sarita Jain in Machcha

"A large number of films were given A ratings because of their content. It is our duty to ensure that some films, which may have a negative impact on impressionable minds, should not be watched by those under 18 years," he explains.

Quality nosedives

"The Kannada film industry has improved by leaps and bounds as far as the technical aspect of filmmaking is concerned. But in terms of quality, our films are going nowhere. Our producers must realise that they have to make meaningful cinema with strong content," says Chandrashekhar. "A growing number of producers and directors lack professionalism as they are only interested in making money. They come into the industry, looking for glamour. Their films invariably revolve around two themes: underworld sagas and clichu00e9d love stories. The audience is sick and tired of watching such boring stuff. Until such people are weeded out, one cannot expect anything good from our film industry," he adds.


Getting cozy: Vijay and Aindrita Rai in Junglee	Can't straighten up: Tarun and Priyanka in Seena

According to the Censor Board's report, 24 per cent of films released in 2007 and 20 per cent in 2008 depicted violence and bloodshed.

"This is a dangerous trend. In comparison to the figures obtained from other regional industries, violent films constitute only 2-4 per cent of movies made annually," says Chandrashekhar.u00a0

Booby trap
Censor Board officials are shocked by the proliferation of item numbers in Kannada films. It is these raunchy song and dance sequences that get the film an A rating.

An A or UA rating means such films cannot be shown on television, a major revenue stream for producers in the form of satellite rights. Even a trailer or song shown on TV has to obtain CBFC clearance. Though producers and directors crib about losing out on satellite TV rights, they don't want to cut out the item number as they believe it works as a crowd puller in theatres.

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