Mumbai: Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen won`t release his latest work `Blue Jasmine` in India, objecting to anti-smoking warnings being inserted into his film. It has evoked a mixed response from Indian filmmakers - some are glad that he took a stand while others are okay with the statutory warning.
Here is what they have to say:
Shoojit Sircar: I am glad Woody Allen took a stand. Those visuals are disturbing for viewers.
A. Rajamouli: Hope Woody Allen`s heroic act drills some sense into those insensitive elements which thought of the ghastly anti-smoking video. I almost puked when I first watched the video. All the smokers all around me watched the footage of cancerous mouths nonchalantly. It ruins my cinema-going experience every single time.
Gyan Correa: Personally, I am against any kind of coercion or censorship. We pay a price for crimes we don`t commit. Like most Indians, I don`t even smoke!
Kabir Bedi: I agree with Woody Allen completely. The anti-smoking video spoils the movie-viewing experience that we pay for. Will the government stamp warnings on the text of books where characters smoke?
Santosh Sivan: I think Woody Allen has a point. It is unfair to subject us to this footage. But I guess we live in a society where people are shown murdering, raping, taking drugs on screen. All these evils seem permissible as they don`t come with any warning. I was in a restaurant with a friend in Los Angeles when Afghanistan was bombed. My friend, who was smoking, was asked to refrain. He was really upset because there was a whole country going up in smoke and he couldn`t take a smoke! I think we need to examine the people who make these rules...Or maybe we should start censoring news on television and in newspapers. I`d like to see captions saying, `Please don`t bomb public places. It is injurious to health.` Censorship should not be discriminatory.
Bejoy Nambiar: That is completely Woody Allen`s call. I am completely anti-smoking. So I`ve no problem with the statutory warning. I just wish the video was shorter."
Irrfan: Woody Allen could make his version of the anti-smoking film and ask the government of India to play it with his film.
IANS