Tobacco projection in movies

Seventy nine of the hundred and ten movies presented smoking or tobacco with glamour and style. Movies associating glamour with tobacco accounted for 80.6% of all the tobacco showing movies and 71.8% of movies release in 2004-5. Glamour incidences were the one’s where tobacco was used in situations and by characters projected as glamorous or smoking was used so as to relate it with a positive style as if smoking was a style statement and something desirable.

Prominent among such movies are; Bunty Aur Bubly, Yuva, Musafir, Aab Tumareh Hawaley Watan Sathion, Bach ke Rehna Re Baba, Choclate, James, Kaal, Khamoshh, Lucky, Padamshree Laloo Prasad Yadav, Tere Naam, etc. 

“Bunty aur Bubli” features Amitabh Bachchan, (the Indian superstar who also has a temple in his name by his fans) Abhishek Bachchan (his real life son) and Rani Mukherjee. All the three characters smoke in the movie with full glamour and style. Amitabh Bachchan is shown smoking bidi (Indian rolled temburni leaf with dried tobacco) with great fondness and at one instance even claims that bidi makes his brain works faster. 

Another movie “Pyaar Mein Twist” shows a middle aged hero as a successful businessman who smokes cigar in style with great fondness and so does another important character who also plays a successful businessman. In “Yuva”, a movie on young aspirations; the male lead is shown smoking with passion and as a powerful statement of assertion. The movie “Let’s Enjoy” also projects the same theme.  “Aab Tumareh Hawaley Watan Sathion” is a movie about dynamic young officers and Akshay Kumar who plays an Army officer is shown smoking with an unusual style. This style became a hit with a lot of youngsters. Incidentally Akshay was also the brand ambassador for “Red & White” a cigarette brand. 

The first scene of many movies open with a shot of cigar/cigarette, “Chocolate” is one such movie. The first scene focuses on a hand holding a cigar. The first scene after of “Kismat” after the titles and featuring the male lead, Bobby Deol begins with a smoking scene in a police station. The first appearance of the hero is with a cigarette. He smokes with a style and appears to be macho because of smoking. “Tum Ho Na” featuring Jackie Shroff also opens with a cigarette scene and so does “Khauff,” “Siskiyan” and “Jo Boley So Nihal,” all opening with the female characters holding cigarette. 

When only good people smoke: Many times some film makers argue that display of smoking is necessary and often used only to make the bad characters and the villains more significant. This, as we have seen above, is a forceless argument as we can deduct from the above mentioned figures. In 75.5% of the movies showing tobacco, it is the lead characters who consume tobacco in the movies and in 21.4% of these, it is exclusively only the leading characters who smoke and no other character is shown consuming tobacco. Most of the time tobacco has been associated with glamour and style.  

Examples: In movie “Yahaan,” it’s only the hero and his associates who smoke. They are shown as brave army people. None of the terrorists or negative characters smokes. Every army officer right from the General to the Captain is shown smoking at one time or another.  

In the movie “Elaan” it is once again only the lead characters who smoke and drink, the villain or any other member of his gang neither smokes nor drinks. Similarly in “Aab Tumareh Hawaley Watan Sathion,” a movie featuring the Indian super star Amitabh Bachachan and the popular hero Akshay Kumar, it’s only the young army officer who smokes and shows bravery while smoking cigarettes. Once again none of the negative character used tobacco. Another popular movie “Dus” also depicted only the hero smoking cigarettes. There are many other such movies, like, Film Star, Koi Mere Dil Mein Hai, Lucky, Main Hoon Naa, Murder, Rain, Raincoat, Shabd, etc. where its only the lead characters, projected as good person who smoke. In these films no negative character (who comes out as a loser in the end) is shown consuming tobacco.

A sizeable number of movies related tobacco with stressful situation and thereby projecting tobacco as a panacea to all kinds of stress and tension. The false association of tobacco as a stress reliever has been created in sixty one of the hundred and ten movies analyzed. For example in “My Wife’s Murder,” a successful movie, the male lead as well as an important female character is shown smoking in tense moments. In another movie, “Koi Mere Dil Main Hai,” a father advises his son that whenever he feels tense he may smoke. In another movie “Shabnam Mausi” a politician anxiously waiting for his polling result is shown smoking under tension. Similarly “Elaan,” “Topless,” “Bachke Rehna Re Baba,” “Double Cross Ek Dhoka,” “Dansh,” “Plan,” “Chocolate,” “Fareb,” “Julie,” Shabd,” “Main Aisa Hi Hoon,” etc. all promotes sequences where tobacco or smoking is shown as stress reliever. The association of stress with smoking are too many and absolutely unnecessary. 

Interestingly two movies with the same storyline were produced in 2005. “Dansh” and “Siskiyaan” with the same story did not have the same character smoking in the movie. While in Dansh, only the male lead Kay Kay Menon smokes but in “Siskiyaan,” only the female lead Neha Dhupia smokes. The female lead smokes “Marlboro” brand of cigarette under stressful situation and otherwise too. This particular instance shows that storylines are often compromised to accommodate smoking and no emotion is depicted by showing cigarettes. 

The association of tobacco with stress is factually and scientifically incorrect. There are no medical studies to even point that tobacco reduces stress. The association of tobacco with stress only promotes the tobacco industry marketing theme that smoking/tobacco reduces stress. It’s a scientific fact that tobacco is the major cause of hypertension and increased the chances of an infraction many folds.

Movies do not just stop at promoting a tobacco brand or smoking. Many go a step further and even have elaborate and many times complex sequences sending a favourable message promoting tobacco consumption. Quite often the smoking warnings are mentioned in such a way as to trifle and mock them.

At least 30% of the total movies and 33.7% of those with smoking incidences had a positive dialogue/action facilitating tobacco consumption and 30.6% movies had a sequence which made fun of the dangers of tobacco or belittled the warning statement.

A few 2004-05 movies, having statements/visuals specifically promoting and facilitating tobacco and /or mocking at the dangers of tobacco consumption are; Padamshree Laloo Prasad Yadav, Yuva, Siskiyan, Tere Naam, Yahan, Page 3, Parineeta, Bachke rehna Re Baba, Double Cross, Koi Mere Dil Mein Hai, Let’s Enjoy, Masti, Madhoshi, Hum Tum, etc.

Belittling tobacco warnings is not a new trend. A movie recently (October 2005) shown on Doordarshan, “Johnny Mera Naam” (A successful movie of 70’s) had a scene where the hero (Dev Anand) offers a cigarette to villain (Prem Nath), the villain refuses saying that, “I don’t smoke because cigarettes cause cancer.” The hero goes ahead and lights the cigarette despite the villain admonishing him. It’s a counter productive warning statement. The hero is the one who is brave, honest, handsome and smart. Hero is the on who wins in the end with a cigarette in his hand and it’s the villain who looses despite not smoking. It’s a clear and deliberate situation belittling the warning.

Similarly in “Kaal,” a movie released in 2005 one of the important character refuses the cigarette saying “It kills,” but in the same sequence of scenes he lights a cigarette, puffs it and again says, “It kills.” Strangely in the next scene the character who offered the cigarette is killed for reasons other than smoking. It is an established fact that experimenting is the first step to full fledged smoking addiction. One of the lead actors experimenting with the cigarette (while some other smokes) though he does not smoke is a positive and provocative sequence. A 2005 release “Parineeta” had a scene where the female lead asks the hero not to smoke because it is not good for him but the hero answers that he is mature enough to understand about what is good and what is bad for him and continues to smoke.

In “Nazar,” a movie released in 2005, a minor character is shown smoking in the hospital and the nurse there admonishes her against smoking to which she replies that if one has to die, one will die anyway and in the next sequence she is shown murdered.

“Hum Tum,” a super hit movie of 2004 had a scene where the hero offers the female lead a cigarette stating that those who have never smoked can not understand the pleasures of smoking. In this movie too this is a clear instigation to experiment with smoking. There are many such movies instigating experimentation and at the same time also showing some cigarette brand at the subliminal level. Some of them are Hum Tum, C U at 9, Kaal, Padamshree Laloo Prasad Yadav, etc. 

In another movie, “Padamshree Laloo Prashad Yadav,” the hero (Suniel Shetty) offers a cigarette to a person (two different sequences) and on refusal by the person to smoke claiming that he had never smoked before, the hero instigates him. In a catchy dialogue sequence the hero asks him that the way you learned about other things in your life and the way you learned producing children, the same way you should also learn to smoke. 

In “Let’s Enjoy,” (released 2004), there are elaborate dialogues praising cigarettes and claiming it to be “Babaji ka prashad” (Divine potion). “Bachke Rehan Re Baba,” shows a main character consuming “Gutka” (Chewing tobacco) in many situations and is shown obsessively attached to tobacco. He praises the taste of “Gutka” many times in the movie. 

In “Page 3,” released in 2005, a police officer admonishes a journalist about smoking and in the next sequences the journalist lights the cigarette of the police inspector and both laugh over the previous warning. In another movie (Koi Mere Dil Mein Hai) the father asks his son to smoke whenever he feels tense. Besides there are many movies where a character is smoking and consuming alcohol (doing both), he/she is admonished about not drinking but not about tobacco consumption. Some of such sequences are in Bardaast, Chaahat, Madhoshi, etc.  

These scenes are only illustrative in nature and not an exhaustive list. In the movies showing tobacco at least 33.7% movies had a positive dialogue/action facilitating tobacco consumption and 30.6% movies had a sequence which made fun of the dangers of tobacco or belittled the warning statement.

Fewer females smoke in India except among certain socioeconomic groups and in some geographical pockets, whereas the west has a large consumer segment in the form of female smokers. It is a well known fact that tobacco companies strive hard to increase this potential segment and is always positioning some of its products specifically for women.[i] 

At least 25.5% movies showed females consuming tobacco in movies released in 2004 and 2005. This constitutes 28.6% of movies showing tobacco. This is significantly higher than any of the previously reported rate of showing smoking by females in Indian movies. The last WHO study done in 2003 reported that females shown smoking on television varied between 2.5% to 8% for the movies shown on television.[ii] 

In many movies, the female leads are shown smoking with a atypical style, prominent among such movies released in 2004-5 are Siskiyaan, Main Aisa Hi Hoon, Chameli, Aan, Bunty Aur Babli, Khamoshh, Sauda, Topless, Tum Ho Na, Ab Bas, C U at 9, Chaahat, Double Cross, Jo Bole So Nihal, Julie, etc. 

“Bunty aur Babli” female lead Rani Mukherjee smoked cigarette in such a style that many young girls can be seen emulating her. In a school where we got some of our questionnaire filled up, many girls happily emulated the way Rani smoked. In another movie, “Main Aisa Hi Hoon,” the female lead smoked with style amid a clearly visible cigarette brand in at least one scene. Another movie Siskiyan also had the cigarette brand clearly visible many times and so was there in C U at 9. 

In Chahaat, the female lead smokes a popular brand of cigarette on many occasions and during stressful situation and so does the female lead in “My Wife’s Murder,” “Chocolate,” “Double Cross,” Ek Hasina Thi,” “Julie”, etc. In one movie “Topless,” the male star asks his wife as why she doesn’t light her own cigarette instead of sharing his cigarette. 

Many movies opened with the female character smoking cigarette in the first scene itself. Movies like Siskiyan, Khauff comes in this category. 

It has been noted that in almost all the instances showing females smoking, the female character is either the glamorous lead or a rich female belonging to high class society. An association of beauty, success, emotional and physical toughness, independence and rebelliousness have often been associated with female smoking. In many instances even the cigarette brand has been deliberately shown at the subliminal level. This gives enough indication that such product placement is a well though out strategy in many cases.

The 2003 study on the tobacco use in Bollywood films reports that during the 12 years from 1990 to 2002 only 62 brand exposures were recorded, accounting for only 15.7% of the movies.[iii]This was before the restriction on direct or indirect form of tobacco advertisement under the anti-tobacco legislation, enacted in 2003 and which came in force from 2004. 

The equation seems to change absolutely now. Among the movies assessed for 2004-05 at least 40.9% of the movies have either a tobacco product brand appearance or there was a verbal mention of the tobacco brand name. The figure comes to 45.9% of all movies with tobacco. This is significantly higher than any earlier reported brand placement instances anywhere. 

Most of these brand placement efforts are in the form of cigarette packets shots, though there are at least two instances where there is a verbal reference of the cigarette brand. In the movie “Yahaan,” a movie about young and brave army officer, a female character asks for a cigarette and then specifically asks about the brand of the cigarette in an interesting manner and the officer replies, “Benson,” the colloquial name by which “Benson & Hedges” brand of cigarettes are known. Similarly in the movie “Chameli” the hero Rahul Bose specifically asks for the brand “Benson lights” after being offered “Marlboro.” 

Prominent movies which show cigarette packet shots are; Swadesh, Musafir, Padamshree Laloo Prasad Yadav, Main Aisa Hi Hoon, C U at 9, Siskiyan, Chameli, Ek Hasina Thi, Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi, Jaago, James, Kaal, Khamoshh, Khakee, Lucky, Maqbool, My Wife’s Murder, Rog, Siskiyaan, Tere Naam, Zehar, etc. 

In movies like Swadesh, Musafir, Siskiaan, Lucky, Padamshree Laloo Prasad Yadav, etc. there are some very close up shots of the cigarette packets. They are even longer than a normal advertising spot and certainly associated in such a way that a person who has never been exposed to tobacco products also registers them. 

Over 90% of all the brand appearances are mainly of two tobacco companies, Phillips Morris (Marlboro) and ITC (Wills and Gold Flake). Almost all the brand appearances for Marlboro were in movies which were of big budget and featured popular stars. Marlboro brand was always placed in the hands of the leading male or female character. ITC brands were not so prominently placed and were mostly seen in medium budget movies, like Rog, Zehar, etc. Unlike Marlboro shots, ITC products were handled even by other characters and visible in the hands of minor characters too. Certainly Phillips Morris has a long history and experience of product placement in Hollywood and other International movies[iv] this experience seems to be fully used by the tobacco company.