'Ustad Hotel' fails to get Animal Welfare Board of India nod

ALAPPUZHA: The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) refused to give no objection certificates to two films -Anwar Rasheed's 'Ustad Hotel' and M A Nishad's 'No 66 Madhura Bus'.

The AWBI refused to give NOC to these films following the complaints filed by Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF), an animal lovers' forum with the AWBI. It will adversely affect the release of these two Malayalam films.

"The directors of these two films used animals in their films without the pre-shoot permission of the AWBI. As per the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001, shooting with animals should be undertaken only after getting pre-shoot permission from AWBI," said V K Venkitachalam, secretary of HATF.

In the film 'Ustad Hotel', director Anward Rasheed used a camel in a song scene without the permission of the AWBI.

When HATF lodged a complaint with the AWBI in this connection, the director and the producer of the film approached the AWBI for its permission. However, the AWBI refused to give the NOC saying that using camel in Kerala for films could not be permitted because a camel cannot live in Kerala due to the climate here.

However, Anwar Rasheed told TOI that the film would be released on June 29 at any cost and they did not have any plan to remove the scene in which a camel was used.

The film 'Ustad Hotel' stars Dulquar Salman, Nitya Menon and Thilakan among others.

"People and media with some vested interests are trying to stop the release of my film. Now there is no problem for the release of my film and it will be released on June 29," he said.

M A Nishad has also used a captive elephant in the film without the pre-shoot certificate from the board.

Following this, the AWBI refused to issue NOC and directed M A Nishad and the film's producer to produce the ownership certificate of the elephant from the wildlife department.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Ustad-Hotel-fails-to-get-Animal-Welfare-Board-of-India-nod/articleshow/14348050.cms

Censor board to get more strict on animal welfare

When it comes to using animals in films, it looks like Indian filmmakers are in for even tougher times ahead. A letter from animal activist Maneka Gandhi to the Minister Of Information & Broadcasting Ms Ambika Soni has set of a flurry of activity in official quarters of the government. The letter dated 22 March 2012 from Ms Gandhi to Ms Soni clearly alleges that Bollywood film producers are "making a fool" of the Animal Welfare Board Of India (AWBI) and the censor board.

In the letter Maneka Gandhi says, "They (the producers) send a script but will not mention animal activity in India or will give wrong activity.Then when the film is shot they send the CD for approval to the AWBI without the schemes involving animals in it. The AWBI gives the NOC (No Objection Certificate) on the basis of the CD. The producer then reinstates the scenes and goes to the censor board with the NOC. These scenes are usually very violent. The censor board instead of questioning these scenes which are blatantly cruel, simply take it for granted that they have an NOC and pass the film."

The letter goes on to give the example of Sajid Nadiadwala's Housefull 2 where Akshay Kumar is seen wrestling crocodiles and a python.

Ms Gandhi also accuses some regional officers of the CBFC of "blatantly ignoring the rules." She cites the example of the Tamil film Adukulam where the rooster fights that were the film's mainstay had not been approved of by the AWBI.

The letter has triggered a flurry of debate within the censor board. A source from the censor board says there are radical changes on the anvil regarding the depiction of animals in Hindi films.

Says our source, "It will no longer be easy for filmmakers to bypass rules regarding animals. For example Nadiadwala shot the scenes with pythons and crocodiles outside India. That exempted the scenes with the animals from scrutiny and rectification by the AWBI and CBFC. The censor board is in the process of covering such loopholes."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Censor-board-to-get-more-strict-on-animal-welfare/articleshow/13685399.cms

B-town low on animal instinct

Unlike the West that continues to “inspire” our cinema from time to time, animals in Bollywood have rarely taken centrestage. Barring the Rajesh Khanna classic, Haathi Mere Saathi way back in 1971, followed by the Jackie Shroff starrer Teri Meherbaniyan in 1985, we can hardly think of any worthy example where an animal played the hero. Tuffy in Hum Aapke Hai Kaun did share a significant amount of screen space, but at the end of it all, was reduced to a caricature. Blame it on the animal rights activists who create a hue and cry every time a furry creature walks about in the frame, or blame it on a dire paucity of scripts with nothing being written keeping animals in mind. While in the West, the likes of Uggie (the dog from The Artist) continue to bag awards and accolades, in India animals keep getting pushed to the periphery as nothing more than props.

“If they (animals) are not central to the script, why use them as props? Why do we need heroes fighting and falling over chicken stalls or shattering goldfish bowls?” says Ambika Shukla, trustee, People For Animals. But then what about period films such as Jodha Akbar or Drona where animals such as horses and elephants are mandatory props to create a definite milieu? “Use computer simulation if you have to. If one makes a story about a beggar, will they use a real beggar from the streets? My point is nobody comes up with an animal sympathetic story, like they do in the West,” Ambika adds.

Film critic Omar Qureshi feels that the fault lies with the law itself. “The laws to protect animals in India are terrible and a lot of animal rights organisations make noise just to gain publicity. Even Sooraj Barjatya, who started off by casting a real Pomeranian (Tuffy) opted for an animated parakeet in his next film Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon. But it’s also true that animals on our sets are not handled by professionals, which is where the cruelty stems from,” he says.

The industry also feels that with rules so stringent it’s not worth going through the grind of making an animal centric film. “Making films in India is such a pain with all the clearance issues in nearly every department. And when they involve animals, the process becomes doubly harrowing,” says screenwriter Anuraadha Tiwari. She continues, “We are not exactly an animal-respecting society and such films tend to get labelled as children’s films. Even if we had a worthy script, there are very few takers and I don’t see the mindset changing in the next ten years.” Psychiatrist Dr Hozefa Bhinderwala renders a larger perspective to Anuraadha’s opinion. He says, “In this country, where space and livelihood is such a constraint, affection for animals is not a priority for people.”

http://www.asianage.com/life-and-style/b-town-low-animal-instinct-168 

Face the music if you shoot animals illegally

Animal Welfare Board Of India is seeking help of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to take action against filmmakers who film beasts without obtaining permission from it

Tired of seeing animals being used, and often misused in films, the Animal Welfare Board Of India (AWBI) has decided to come down hard on errant filmmakers who take liberties with the law, and use animals in their productions without getting the necessary sanctions and paperwork in place. 

Take permission
The board has decided that it will not issue non-objection certificates (NOCs) to filmmakers who take footage of animals for their productions without taking permission from them. Not only that, it has decided to take legal action against them. The board has also lodged a complaint with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry about the errant producers who do not intimate the board before using footage of animals in their films.

As per the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules 2001 under the PCA Act 1960, producers of films in which animals are used should apply to the AWBI and furnish details of animals to be used, with details about their performance sequences, and their ownership certificates.

Officialspeak
However, the board grumbled that many violated the law. Chinny Krishna, vice chairman of AWBI, said, "Maharashtra is the only state where producers flout the law so frequently. While some don't bother to take prior permission from the board, there are others who inform the board after the shooting is over. Others furnish wrong information and mistreat the animals. We have registered a complaint with the Information and Broadcast minister Ambika Soni regarding the same, and hopefully we will be able to tighten the law against the violators soon."

Krishna added that the board would take legal action against all those who were violating the law, explaining, "Shooting with animals can only be done after formal approval is obtained from AWBI in the form of an NOC. This can be achieved only after informing the board the date, time and exact location of film shooting, well before it is done. Not only this, applicants must submit the CDs with the signature and seal of the film company on them, while applying for the NOC. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse."

Legal notices served General Kharb, chairman of AWBI, said, "We have served legal notices or sought
explanation from many filmmakers on various grounds. We have been constantly receiving complaints that
many films released have never taken permission from the board before filming the animals."

Handle with care
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has imposed a blanket ban on the use of animals like lions, tigers, panthers and monkeys in films. While shooting with other animals too, filmmakers will have to be careful. No animal can be used for scenes that are shot on hard surfaces (like tarred roads) or near barbed wires or explosives. Animals also cannot be made to travel for more than eight hours at a stretch.