Times of India, August 1, 1999
By Nikhat Kazmi

NEW DELHI: Shekhar Kapur is angry, aggrieved, but not yet disillusioned. Having just arrived from LA, he is all set to fight one more battle with the Censor Board which had ordered 14 cuts in Bandit Queen and has now asked for three cuts in Elizabeth. ``The Indian Censor Board makes an absolute mockery of the maturity of the Indian audience. It demeans the mindset of the very people who have the power and the intelligence to vote their own government,'' states Kapur.

The film maker, who spoke to The Sunday Times of India on Saturday, feels it was imperative for him to take a stand against an `arbitrary' Censor Board which had allowed Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ry-an to be screened without any cuts, after the director had protested. ``Both the films - Elizabeth and Saving Private Ryan -were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. All I am asking for is the same treatment for my film in my own country. I am going to fight for my right to release my film in my own country in the very same version it has been released all over the world, especially since it is a film which is not blatantly horrific nor exploitative,'' he declares.

According to Kapur, the problem lies in the `archaic' nature of the Censor Board rather than the Censorship Act. Referring to the members of the Censor Board, he says ``films should be shown to people who are willing to take responsibility and are willing to stand up to their decisions.''Currently, the members view the film ``in bits and pieces'' and cut out anything which they feel could be controversial. This, when the Cen-sorship Act clearly states that ``each and every scene should be seen in context of the totality of the work.''

``I have deliberately covered one scene - the severed head on the stake - with smoke, since the idea was not to horrify,'' he confesses. Ironically, the board has not objected to an earlier scene where a young Elizabeth passes through a tower lined with severed heads. ``It seems they want to cut out any scene that makes them emotionally uncomfortable. But I am not here to make comfortable films.'' he points out.

Although the release and the public show of the film has been delayed, the stars - Joseph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett - are arriving as scheduled, even as the private screenings and the other related program-mes are being held. Shekhar is, however, determined not to release the film unless the cuts are bypassed by the appellate tribunal which will give its decision next month.