Jury members should watch the films together: Sharmila Tagore

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 11 (IANS) Censor board chief Sharmila Tagore says that the jury members at the 14th International Film Festival of Kerala, starting here Monday, should watch the competition films together instead of seeing them separately on DVDs.

'I would suggest that they should sit with the audience to view the film so there is more transparency. Seeing films on DVDs is not acceptable,' she told reporters here Friday.

Sharmila is here to attend the inauguration of function of the IIFK as one of the chief guests. She also suggested that the jury members should watch the films with open mind.

'The best way is that the jury should look at the bigger picture and not get bogged down by the regional passion. When a person sits in the jury, his or her identity should be secondary,' she said.

Talking about her role as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, she said she has just submitted an amendment of the present laws that were formed in 1952.

'We were expecting it to come up in parliament in the winter session, but it did not. Anyway, it'll come up soon and what we have suggested is that better information of the film -- like the category of certification -- should be displayed,' she said.

Sharmila is also member of the committee formed to raise the profile of National Film Awards.

'It has members who are deeply passionate about films and hence it is a good committee. I'm happy because the composition of both the committees is excellent.'

In a career spanning more than four decades, Sharmila has acted in just one Malayalam film.

Asked what was the reason, Sharmila said that Malayalam is a difficult language and she found it difficult to give the right expressions as she couldn't understand the dialouges.

But she is willing to work with Adoor Gopalakrishnan.

'If one fails to comprehend the language, acting becomes difficult. Maybe if Adoor Gopalakrishnan invites me, I will surely accept the offer,' said Tagore.

When asked about politics, she said she is not very keen. 'Tiger had tried, but after the death of Rajiv Gandhi he withdrew totally from politics,' she said.