Javed Akhtar and Vishal Bharadwaj believe ban on smoking in public places needs to be strongly enforced.
London:
Poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar andfilmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj have called on the Indian healthministry to re-invent their anti-smoking strategy with regardto films.
"Films seem to be everyone's favourite whipping boy. Thisidea of having a caption on the screen every time an actoris seen smoking is immature and childish, and in fact futile.
"More importantly, there should be stronger measures inplace to ensure there are no cigarette shops near schools andcolleges. The ban in public places needs to be enforcedmore strictly," Akhtar told PTI at a fundraiser here onThursday in aid of the not-for-profit cancer hospital TataMedical Centre.
"Countries like the US have succeeded in making it sodifficult to smoke in public that people have been forced togive up. Smoking on screen is not targeted in America, if thefilm demands it," he added.
He was joined by wife and actress Shabana Azmi, who wasthe key narrator of a musical show titled Uff Yoo Maa, whichhelped raise nearly 150,000 pounds for the Kolkata-basedhospital.
"It is a fact that smoking is a major cause behind cancerdeaths and the problem needs to be tackled better. Ifanything, that caption on screen during a film is verydistracting and just brings smoking more to one's attention,"she said.
A ban on on-screen smoking by actors and actress had beenover-turned by the Indian courts in 2009 as a form ofcensorship but the Indian health ministry now requiresfilmmakers to give a 20-second anti-smoking statutory warningevery time a character is seen smoking on screen.
Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who had composed a humorousanti-tobacco song as part of his last release Matru Ki BijleeKa Mandola earlier this year, believes it is also importantthe health awareness campaigns run by the government are mademore engaging.
"Years ago we had actors endorsing cigarettes and it hada different perception. Today there is a lot more awareness onthe issue of smoking but the public interest adverts need tohave more aesthetics to have any impact. The moment somethingis done in an entertaining rather than preachy way, itimmediately has a greater impact.
"At the moment, you just want to shut your eyes and notwatch these adverts," said Bhardwaj, who also endorsed theTata Medical Centre cause during a brief visit to London.
"Films seem to be everyone's favourite whipping boy. Thisidea of having a caption on the screen every time an actoris seen smoking is immature and childish, and in fact futile.
"More importantly, there should be stronger measures inplace to ensure there are no cigarette shops near schools andcolleges. The ban in public places needs to be enforcedmore strictly," Akhtar told PTI at a fundraiser here onThursday in aid of the not-for-profit cancer hospital TataMedical Centre.
"Countries like the US have succeeded in making it sodifficult to smoke in public that people have been forced togive up. Smoking on screen is not targeted in America, if thefilm demands it," he added.
He was joined by wife and actress Shabana Azmi, who wasthe key narrator of a musical show titled Uff Yoo Maa, whichhelped raise nearly 150,000 pounds for the Kolkata-basedhospital.
"It is a fact that smoking is a major cause behind cancerdeaths and the problem needs to be tackled better. Ifanything, that caption on screen during a film is verydistracting and just brings smoking more to one's attention,"she said.
A ban on on-screen smoking by actors and actress had beenover-turned by the Indian courts in 2009 as a form ofcensorship but the Indian health ministry now requiresfilmmakers to give a 20-second anti-smoking statutory warningevery time a character is seen smoking on screen.
Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who had composed a humorousanti-tobacco song as part of his last release Matru Ki BijleeKa Mandola earlier this year, believes it is also importantthe health awareness campaigns run by the government are mademore engaging.
"Years ago we had actors endorsing cigarettes and it hada different perception. Today there is a lot more awareness onthe issue of smoking but the public interest adverts need tohave more aesthetics to have any impact. The moment somethingis done in an entertaining rather than preachy way, itimmediately has a greater impact.
"At the moment, you just want to shut your eyes and notwatch these adverts," said Bhardwaj, who also endorsed theTata Medical Centre cause during a brief visit to London.
