Sex and violence sells, can’t show only fairy tales: Sharmila Tagore

A dash of sex and violence is a sure shot formula for filmmakers to bring in audiences, says censor board chief Sharmila Tagore, who insists she doesn’t run the scissors if the scenes gel well with the script.

“Sex and violence sells. Everybody is not Shakespeare, everybody is not a great director or an Imtiaz Ali whose ‘Jab We Met’ was a clean film and yet worked at the box office,” Sharmila Tagore siad in an exclusive interview.

“Some people make a clean film and then put one item song because they feel that will bring in the audiences and it does turn out to be true. They do it for the sake of money. You can’t blame them as filmmaking is ultimately a moneymaking proposition,” she added.

Sharmila, 62, who was also on the jury of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival recently, says it’s high time the audiences and those who believe in moral policing stopped pretending about the existence of an underbelly in Indian society.

“In every city and village, there is an underbelly and there is a clientele that does go for drinks, gambling and dancing with women in red light areas. So by hiding all that, we cannot pretend it’s not happening. If it is happening, it will be shown in movies.

“We can’t look away from reality. We don’t want to be a state or country of pretenders or hypocrites. But, yes, we have to keep a balance in what is shown; so we censor accordingly,” she said.

A few months ago, gay activist Sridhar Rangayan, who has made movies like “Pink Mirror” on issues confronting the community, had said that the censor board needs to update its rule book and rid itself of “antiquated rules”. But Sharmila differs.

“I don’t agree with that statement. We do have a set of rules, but it is interpreted by everyone differently. One rule says, ‘Don’t glorify violence’. Now every individual will be comfortable with a different degree of violence in a film - it’s subjective.

“All of us at the censor board know India and Indian sensibilities. I have been involved with media for the last 50 years, my regional officers are sensitised and trained and the panel is good. We know our country and know how regional sensibilities differ - so we censor when it is required,” she said.

Sharmila added that she doesn’t necessarily cut a scene if it goes well with the script.

“We don’t necessarily cut, but we certify. India is free for all and all sorts of material comes in. Some kind of censorship is absolutely essential. But what we believe is that it must be flexible, has to be aware of the times, have a hand on the pulse of the nation and should be forward-looking. But we won’t agree that we are regressive,” she clarified.

In fact, she suggests that filmmakers exhibit the certification of the film prominently on posters and advertisements so that the audience can use their discretion on whether or not to watch the film.

“In our country people take children without bothering to see the certification. A lot of times the posters and the ads of movies in papers don’t have a certification - so people aren’t advised properly - that’s not our problem,” she rued.

“The audience needs to be advised that a film contains explicit language and sexual scenes and so they should not take their kids along. Personally, I let tolerable adult content pass through with an A-certification. We can’t completely protect the audience and just show them fairy tales,” Sharmila said.

Another pertinent point that she keeps in mind while running her censor scissors is the fact that the Indian film industry is competing with the global market in terms of content and quality.

“We are competing with the world market; so we need to come up with competitive films. Then only our industry will grow…We have to make today’s films. We have to keep in step with what’s happening in the world,” she said.

Saif’s acting has improved by leaps and bounds: Sharmila Tagore

Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore loves watching her son’s films as any mother does and feels his acting has improved phenomenally over the years. At the same time she says Saif Ali Khan is not the easiest of actors to work with.

“As an actor, Saif has grown by leaps and bounds. I think in ‘Love Aaj Kal’, his monologues are really good. And over time, he has become a very sensitive actor. I am really proud of him,” Sharmila said in an interview.

Talking about some of her favourite Saif-starrers, the 62-year-old actress named films like “Love Aaj Kal”, “Omkara”, “Parineeta”, “Ek Hasina Thi”, “Hum Tum”, “Being Cyrus”, “Kal Ho Na Ho” and “Dil Chahta Hai”.

“They are all such different roles that he has played and in such a variety of films. I feel he has an energy in him that makes me want to see him on screen,” she said.

If Sharmila is to be believed, Saif is not an easy actor to work with and says she is confident that he would have been a menace for most of his directors.

“I really don’t know how the directors work with him. He is a difficult actor to work with. The directors probably pull their hair out. How it happens I don’t know, but I like what I see of him on screen,” she said.

The mother and son have featured together in “Aashik Aawara” (1993) and “Eklavya - The Royal Guard” (2007).

“He has been very lucky to work with people like Vishal Bharadwaj, Imtiaz Ali, Pradeep Sarkar and Farhan Akhtar, who have given him meaningful and meaty roles,” she added.

According to the doting mother of three - Saif, Soha and Saba, her son’s most forgettable role has been in “Tashan”, where he was cast with Kareena Kapoor. But rather than being extremely critical of his performances, she likes to watch his work like a regular audience.

“I am content to be just a mother to all my children. When I see a film, I see it as any other audience member. I react as an audience. If I feel there are issues with make-up or dialogue delivery, I tell him and he listens to them. But I believe in constructive criticism. So I give suggestions that they can build on, not something that they can’t do anything about,” she clarified.

While Saif branched out from being just an actor to being a producer for his last release “Love Aaj Kal”, Sharmila doubts his ability to manage financial issues.

“I can’t really give Saif the credit for being a producer. He may have contributed to the creative side of it, but the rest was all done by his partner Dinu (Dinesh Vijan). Saif doesn’t have the patience or inclination to manage finance. He doesn’t understand the concept of money. Dinesh is the one who kept it all within the budget and did a very credible job,” she said.

As of now, Sharmila, who is married to Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, is hoping for a family reunion soon as it’s been a long time since they have all met at one place.

“Such a meeting where all of us are together has to be impromptu. Sometimes if Saif can come, Soha can’t as she can’t dictate terms to her producers. But we see them individually. We met Saif at Interlaken some time back. All of us together is a little difficult but we might manage it soon as we have a wedding coming up in the family,” said Sharmila, who was recently seen in Amol Palekar’s Marathi film “Samaantar”.

Sharmila Tagore remembers ‘fun times’ with Gayatri Devi

Yesteryears actress Sharmila Tagore remembers Gayatri Devi, the ‘rajmata’ of Jaipur, as the one who made her comfortable at her wedding to Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, a woman who lived cricket and movies, and the woman who added the “glamour” quotient to parliament.

“Aunty Ayesha (Gyatri Devi) was a personal friend of my mother-in-law. The two families have been very, very close. It was a very long association. She was very much part of my wedding and she was very fond of cricket. Once she asked me a question about cricket and I didn’t know the answer and she said, ‘Why don’t you know? Aren’t you married to Tiger (Pataudi)?

“In fact, we were in London when she fell ill. She was admitted to a hospital. She was remarkably versatile. She was very keenly interested in sports and has written a cookbook… I’ve a signed copy,” Sharmila told .

She says that Gayatri Devi was a good host too.

“When she was in a roomful of people, she made every single person feel special. When I got engaged to Tiger, she came across the entire length of the room and talked to me in Bengali. That one-to-one made me feel so special. That time I was so young and so frightened. Her attention made me feel so confident. I’ve never forgotten that,” she said.

Sharmila says that even in her last days, she was very particular about her appearance as well as movies.

“Even very recently she would dress up and come out. In London, when we were there recently, she wanted to see the new Keira Knightley film ‘The Duchess’. I remembered, how I had arranged a show of my film ‘Anupama’ in the 1960s for aunty Ayesha’s mother who was in a wheelchair. I told aunty Ayesha if ‘The Duchess’ was in India, I’d have definitely arranged a special screening for her….

“She joined parliament and was such a glamorous presence there. And she coped with the jail sentence with such dignity. Until the end there were so many dignitaries in her house. My husband was very close to aunty Ayesha. She was exceptionally fond of him. I remember we were at a very well-known designer’s exhibition and she said, ‘Is it a table cloth or something to wear?’ We burst out laughing.

“She really enjoyed life. Her husband taught her all the etiquettes. He groomed her and made her what she was. She was the patron of the arts. And she did a lot for polo. I’ll most certainly miss her.

“If a film on her life was made today, I can’t think of anyone who could fit in. She had a quality that’s hard to find these days. The way she held herself, the way she moved… that’s hard to replicate. She was a fun person to be with. Not one of those boring people. She was great fun to be.”