The Moral Basis of Censorship in Cinema in an Age of Digital Communication: A Study among Select University Communities of India

Abstract

Bollywood’s commitment to mirroring social reality has hardly remained untouched by market forces. Despite cinema being born to creatively portray social reality, the drive to link the success of a film to box office returns eventually led to its commercialisation. Profit prioritisation overpowering its social and developmental goals, obscenity and lewdness emerged as integral features of Indian cinema. Censorship appeared as an inevitable response, restraint on the public morale being necessary for socio-cultural and political reasons. However, obscenity and lewdness having varying interpretations, Indian censorship decisions were hardly indisputable, and all efforts including judicial pronouncements and expert committee recommendations have fallen short of settling the issue. The ongoing digital communication technology revolution has prompted a debate on the relevance of cinema censorship in India. This paper attempts to examine the moral basis of film censorship in India, in the context of changing public moral and social patterns, and the ongoing digital communication technology revolutions.