David Ogilvy, the legendary ad maker once said, "Customer is not a
moron; she is your wife". Though he said this in regard to marketing, the underlying wisdom is equally
true for artistic expression in any mass medium; be it TV, newspaper or celluloid.
It is in keeping with this dictum that film-makers make only the movies that they presume audience would like.
Television programming of most channels too is often the outcome of painstaking
research of the viewers' preferences and not made on the basis of whims and fancies of the
broadcasters.
Editors of newspapers agonize almost daily not only over the accuracy of the
journalist's reports, but also subtle use of words and phrases so that no subjective error might creep
into the final copy which may cause offence to the sensibilities of the readers.
So, more often than not, it is the self regulation and censorship that
is in play that determines the limits to artistic expression that one can freely enjoy. The fact is
that, for instance, even if a maverick film producer makes a movie that is replete with vulgarities
and obscenities from the first scene to the last cut, the public will reject it as a tasteless film
deserved to be thrown to the dust bin.
The film will most probably be branded as porn stuff unworthy for
civilized family viewing. And what is worse, the movie will bomb at the box office. This last factor
alone can deter any film maker to even dare think of making a movie that may outrage the public.
So the principle that should be etched in words of gold is:
"Consumers are the king. Win their approval, you are a champion;
offend them, you are doomed".
The corollary to this should be:
"You can't do anything without the consumer's nod".
But something quite the opposite is happening in Manipur. Public is
denied what it approves and craves for, namely Manipuri music videos. As TV viewing public, we the
Manipuris have a rightful say on what to censor and what to see in the local cable network that
has been beaming a multitude of programmes, and among them featuring the wildly popular
Manipuri music videos.
Manipuri public is smart enough to discern what is acceptable and what
is morally repugnant. Do we need any moral and cultural police to tell us what to see and what
not to see on the TV? Though there may be political grounds for enforcing a blanket ban on
Hindi language TV channels (which is understandable to an extent), it becomes absurd when Music
videos made by Manipuris, for the Manipuris and of the Manipuris are banned on the
specious grounds of indecency/vulgarity. Had there been excessive and objectionable
vulgarities in any scene of the albums, the public would have been the first to feel outraged and seek
apology from the culprit producer of such videos. The public didn't. So, it can be assumed that
the album makers have so far treaded within the limits of decency set by the public.
And as I have already stated above, no producer can afford to antagonize the sensibilities of the consumers,
which in this case is the whole TV viewing Manipuri public.
Moerover, we are still a conservative close knit society based on
familial ties, and most of our values are more or less moralistic. I doubt if this feature of the
Manipuri society can be changed overnight by the influence of some innocuous music albums. If at all
there must be a censorship body to regulate the content of the videos, it must include among its
members competent professionals of unimpeachable integrity and judgment drawn from the
film fraternity and not from politics.
It should be a democratic set up that respects rules of law
and amenable to suggestions. In other words, the body should not function arbitrarily
like Taliban clerics. This is important as justice must not only be done
but also seen to be done.
If the ban on music albums continues for a long period, it definitely
would be a big setback for the fledgling industry which is showing signs of early brilliance, despite
many odds. The indiscriminate ban is like setting the entire house on fire to kill a
small rat. Instead the ban should have been applied selectively to punish the problem videos only (so
that not all the videos are affected).
We the consumers have every right to enjoy a good night's entertainment
with the family after the
hard day's work. After all we need an escape route away from the
turmoil of bitter realities facing
Manipur. Whoever is enforcing the ban should realize this and leave
some aspects of our life to
ourselves. The banwallahs may have a valid and irrefutable reasons for
what they are doing, but we need to draw a line somewhere between
activism and intrusion. Politics is ok, but when it encroaches upon our
privacy and hinders common man's normal lifestyle, it is reprehensible.
The ban on Manipuri music album raises critical issues of freedom of
artistic expression that cannot be shrugged easily. I hope, at least, my
fundamental right to express my opinion on this issue is still vested
with me. All the best to myself.
* The author is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi. The author can be reached at [email protected]
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