State censorship in Indian cinema - a comparative analysis of India, China, South Korea, France and the USA

Abstract

As I first went to a movie in India, the national anthem was broadcasted, quickly followed by the Central Board for Film Certification certificate. Is it a state-owned theatre, I asked to myself? Not really, just the first clue of the relations between state and cinema in India. Democratization has been a recent phenomenon in most Asian countries, and is still on its way in India, China and South Korea have undergone foreign domination for long, followed by more or less strict political regimes at the time of independence, which set the conditions for political stability and economic development. The cinema industry typically illustrates the changes in society and politics along the twentieth century. Censorship, commercial legislation, information control reflect how the states intervened and shaped the cinema industry. On the other hand, films also provoked changes, as a means of expression and protest, since they have a strong influence on public opinion. Several film scandals have led to major modifications in legislation, behaviors, and aesthetics. Films are also a way of sharing a domestic culture at international level, though worldwide broadcasting, festivals, etc. In this respect, film is both an illustration and an active agent in political and social transformation. All political powers have tried to control the film industry either to favor or to control freedom of speech, by means of censorship. From the 1918 Indian Cinematographic Act under the British Raj, to the Mumbai International Film Festival of India (MIFFI) controversy, censorship has been a constant polemic in India, where culture sets off the highest energies, protests and controversies. India, China and South Korea have undergone very different evolutions as far as censorship is concerned. The political, international and social factors have led to specific situations, which are worth comparing. Moreover, Western cinema, with its two-fold model; Hollywood studio moviesversus state protected art cinema has both influenced and competed with the three major film industries in Asia. I will therefore analyze the evolution of censorship in these three film industries with an emphasis on India, with respect to two Western systems; the French system, and the US Hollywood system. The purpose of this study lies in understanding how different states have dealt with censorship, how the industry reacted and evolved, in order to understand the forces that have driven the relationships between state and cinema.