Smoking Ban on screen: required?

Let us smoke on screen, says Shah Rukh Khan

NEW DELHI (Reuters Life!) - Actor and smoker Shah Rukh Khan has declined a request by the health minister that he quit cigarettes, at least on screen.

Anbumani Ramadoss, the health minister, says the habits of celebrities such as Khan are an enormous influence on young people. But Khan, Hindi cinema's most bankable star, sees no grounds for censorship.

"I think there is a huge amount of creative freedom that should be allowed in cinema," he told a press conference broadcast on the Times Now news channel on Monday. "It is make-believe ... We should not have huge censorship."

Khan recently played a glamorous Mumbai gangster in the film "Don", which was advertised with a lingering shot of him exhaling slow-motion billows of cigarette smoke at the screen, cut with shots of him in sharp clothes and dancing with beautiful women.

But even if film heroines are not repelled by the habit, Ramadoss is.

"Please don't smoke in your movies, Mr Shah Rukh Khan," the health minister said in an interview with CNN-IBN broadcast on Sunday. "Children are being affected. Fourteen-year-olds are taking to tobacco."

More than half of Indian men and about one in 10 Indian women smoke or chew tobacco, according to government figures.

Ramadoss has been pushing for restrictive laws to put people off the addictive habit, which can cause cancers and other diseases.

He proposed an outright ban on smoking onscreen in 2006 and that tobacco packets be emblazoned with grisly photographs of smoking-related diseases, but neither suggestion has yet made it into law.

However, Khan stressed that he was no advocate for smoking, even if his art requires him to light up occasionally.

"Every time I'm in front of a television channel I always say, 'children, don't smoke, it kills you.'" He told reporters. "It's the worst habit and I want to give it up as soon as possible."

- Are film actors role models for the impressionable youngsters?

- Is asking for a ban on smoking on screen an intereference with the creativity of film makers?

- What about alochol... should that be banned too?

- How far is too far for censorship in cinema?

Originally posted by: TallyHo

Let us smoke on screen, says Shah Rukh Khan

Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:47pm IST

NEW DELHI (Reuters Life!) - Actor and smoker Shah Rukh Khan has declined a request by the health minister that he quit cigarettes, at least on screen.

Anbumani Ramadoss, the health minister, says the habits of celebrities such as Khan are an enormous influence on young people. But Khan, Hindi cinema's most bankable star, sees no grounds for censorship.

"I think there is a huge amount of creative freedom that should be allowed in cinema," he told a press conference broadcast on the Times Now news channel on Monday. "It is make-believe ... We should not have huge censorship."

Khan recently played a glamorous Mumbai gangster in the film "Don", which was advertised with a lingering shot of him exhaling slow-motion billows of cigarette smoke at the screen, cut with shots of him in sharp clothes and dancing with beautiful women.

But even if film heroines are not repelled by the habit, Ramadoss is.

"Please don't smoke in your movies, Mr Shah Rukh Khan," the health minister said in an interview with CNN-IBN broadcast on Sunday. "Children are being affected. Fourteen-year-olds are taking to tobacco."

More than half of Indian men and about one in 10 Indian women smoke or chew tobacco, according to government figures.

Ramadoss has been pushing for restrictive laws to put people off the addictive habit, which can cause cancers and other diseases.

He proposed an outright ban on smoking onscreen in 2006 and that tobacco packets be emblazoned with grisly photographs of smoking-related diseases, but neither suggestion has yet made it into law.

However, Khan stressed that he was no advocate for smoking, even if his art requires him to light up occasionally.

"Every time I'm in front of a television channel I always say, 'children, don't smoke, it kills you.'" He told reporters. "It's the worst habit and I want to give it up as soon as possible."

- Are film actors role models for the impressionable youngsters?

- Is asking for a ban on smoking on screen an intereference with the creativity of film makers?

- What about alochol... should that be banned too?

- How far is too far for censorship in cinema?

If govt not ready to bann the product...On screem bann karke faida kyaaa........!!!😳Govt playing double game....😳

Cinema dhek kar koi smoking start nahe kartha aur choodega be nahe😳....But govt can make law...like public smoking bann or aware people...😳

Here's a link to a somewhat similar discussion:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/debate-mansion/685958/no-more-smoking

and a oldie topic with not much discussion:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/debate-mansion/50923/should-smoking-be-banned-in-indian-cinema

Originally posted by: Believe

Cinema dhek kar koi smoking start nahe kartha aur choodega be nahe😳....But govt can make law...like public smoking bann or aware people...😳

I agree with you Believe.

Films doesn't show actors inhaling whiteners or gums like Fevicol, but some 14yr olds in India also take that up. Can't always blame films for everything IMO.😳

Originally posted by: souro

Here's a link to a somewhat similar discussion:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/debate-mansion/685958/no-more-smoking

and a oldie topic with not much discussion:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/debate-mansion/50923/should-smoking-be-banned-in-indian-cinema

Thanks Souro... Looks are agrueable statements and diff twist to topic here...based on responses might consider merging.

Will be back with my responses on the topic later... I don't recall but saw an interview or heard before that SRK has called it quits.... may be am wrong... bold statements to make...

kaidey sey sab ka farz bantaa hai aap key batchey ki sahee parwarish mein aap ki madad karey 😊 . movie stars shd provide a great role model...bhaad mein gayee creativity 😉 . schools should provide a great education but no H.W.....paisey letey waqt khoob achha lagta hai toh padhatey waqt parents kyoon pitch in kareyn 😳 . padosi should keep an eye on ur kids ki kaheen bigad na jayen 😃 .....maa baap ka kya. paida ker diya yeh kya kum baat hai 😉 😛

There are many people who are influential.. In India, actors and actresses are gods 😆 and they are followed blindly.. So, it is necessary that smoking should be banned on screen...

Originally posted by: Anu.Rad

There are many people who are influential.. In India, actors and actresses are gods 😆 and they are followed blindly.. So, it is necessary that smoking should be banned on screen...

In the past only the bad guys smoked. People smoked even then. Now don't say Pran, KN Singh, Prem Chopra et al were treated as role models. 😆

Mr. Health Minister should first address the root cause and that is Tobacco-cigarette industry. Just asking 2-3 top actors to stop smoking on screen won't stop people from smoking. People don't pick up all menaces from movies.

While at it some of these ministers could also try to be better role models for people so that many actually consider politics as a good line of work.

Read that in Tamil Nadu, ministers of a party are planning on creating a dress-code for female actors. The witty side to it is the actor who leads that party or I guess is a prominent in the party does much offensive things in the films with semi-clad women. So much for parity and being role-model.

We Indians like to complain thousand times about our broken system, oh our politicians dont do anything for the betterment of the country and when they make an attempt we scream why dont you do anything about corruption or something else first, same thing happens when a film personality is arrested in a valid crime too 😆

Coming back to point on smoking, most people start smoking when they are kids/teenagers and we all agree kids/teenagers are at a highly influential age(raise hands if you dont agree that kids teenage years are the most influential years😉), now these are things that normally parents will oppose so it is not something that parents could have avoided, if you ask most people who smoke they will tell you they picked it up b'cos it sounded kool(now most non-smokers find it difficult to beleive, but it is what it is, dont beleive me ask someone who smokes).

Also research proves the earlier you pick up such habits the more the addiction, more difficult it becomes to quit so that is the reason why the move by the Indian Health Minister makes perfect sense considering most movie go'ers in India are youngsters

Film personalities/sports personalities are the most influential people and people generally get curious with things that famous people do and generally the product is brought into visibility by the personalities, I had mentioned about a survey done here in America, most girls(and girls/women smoke here far more than boys/men) in a certain age group when asked what drove them to smoking, the answer "Wynona Ryder". Every movie I have seen her, she is the typical kid next door and the common theme in most of her movie's she used to smoke.

Coming back to the point of people why people dont emulate voilence, smootching scene's after watching a film

Which one is easy for you to follow

go to the closest thela and buy a cigarette OR smooch a girl/boy next to standing you OR slap someone just b'cos you think they are villians, the urge being the same?

People also say why not just ban smoking or just shutdown the industry, perhaps those people are thinking without the basis of reality, Gujarat is a dry state, Saudi is a Dry country how do people get their hands on liquor there? When there is a wish you will get hands on it, All you are doing by banning tobacco manufacturing is create a underground market for that atleast this way the govt can regulate it.

I favor the Govt's move here, but they(and people who dont like smoking) should stop at this, after this you are infringing on other people's rights to live whateverway they want to live.

not all smokers get influenced by a movie to start smoking, but this is something govt has a control over, so they should be allowed to do it

Originally posted by: SholaJoBhadkey

In the past only the bad guys smoked. People smoked even then. Now don't say Pran, KN Singh, Prem Chopra et al were treated as role models. 😆

Even today mostly bad guys or wayward hero's smoke in a film

In those days only actors who regularly play villians played Villian roles, SRK has perhaps same amount of roles in Villian role as compared to Hero role😉

Jamana Badal gaya hai