Vani Tripathi Tikoo who is a part-time actress and full-time mother, not to mention a vocal BJP member, says the exploitation of the CBFC’s name to get publicity for films must stop. Addressing the comments in a recent article write up in a Mumbai tabloid in which it has been reported that the CBFC suggested changes and modifications in the expletives used in Veere Di Wedding , Vani lashes out, “This is an absolute lie. A complete fabrication. The fact is, we at the CBFC did not suggest, let alone implement a single change in the dialogues of Veere Di Wedding. The cusswords are exactly the same as what was brought to us by the producers. Not a single modification was made by the CBFC.”
Hitting out at Swara Bhaskar’s infamous self-pleasuring sequence in Veere Di Wedding Vani says, “Is this what feminism and female empowerment means to some filmmakers? To show women cussing swearing and masturbating? This is nothing but a perverse view of gender equality. Are we going to achieve true liberation for women by talking dirty like men and showing women masturbating on screen? This is trying to achieve equality with men for all the wrong reasons. Gender biases don’t evaporate by showing women doing all the things that men do. This attempt to achieve gender equality through a push towards perversion is a new kind of misogyny. We must fight it before it becomes a norm.”
More importantly Vani is perturbed by the lies being told about the CBFC apparently to get films noticed. “If filmmakers are going to use the CBFC name wrongly and accuse us of making cuts modifications and bans when there are none, then I am afraid we are going back to the way the censor board used to be 3-4 years ago. I remember filmmakers put stories about 30-35 cuts even before their films were submitted for censor certification.” Now there is fake news being put out about the Hollywood film Love Simon being banned by the CBFC. “This is absolutely false. Love, Simon was passed with two minor cuts in February. By wrongly advertising its ban the CBFC is being tainted as conservative and old-fashioned. We at the CBFC are all for gay rights. But if a gay film generates no interest in India don’t use the censor bait to create interest,” warns Vani Tripathi Tikoo.
