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The proposal to ban smoking in films is hanging fire
and the conflict between the two ministries –
Health and I&B – is becoming more apparent.
Health Minister took upon himself the job of banning
smoking on the screen, even suggesting that such scenes
from old films may be deleted – an impossible
task in the wake of millions of CDs of thousands of
Bollywood films made over the years and being shown
on over 100 different TV channels and on cable TV –
but the Ministry directly concerned with films, Information
& Broadcasting Ministry put its foot down.
Instead of implementing the smoking ban notified by
the health ministry, more effective and less intrusive
methods may be used to discourage smoking. For instance,
actors could be roped in to give public interest messages
against smoking during the movie.
The deadline for implementing the on-screen smoking
ban was January 1 according to a health ministry notification,
the I&B ministry is adamant in not implementing
the ban as it is, the controversy is likely to; drag.
I&B officials believe that the proposal should
have been discussed with the ministry before being announced.
"The announcement was premature and is impossible
to implement without destroying cinematic beauty and
artistic control," an official said.
On December 17, the I&B ministry told the HC it
did not agree with the health ministry's idea of imposing
a ban on showing the use of tobacco use in films and
TV
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