Ban cigarettes, not smoking scenes in films: Bollywood celebs

New Delhi, Oct 6 (UNI) The clamour in Bollywood circles against the Government's proposal to ban smoking scenes in films seems to have got louder.

Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss voicing his displeasure over smoking scenes featuring superstar Shahrukh Khan in Farhan Akhtar's forthcoming film 'Don' seems to have set off a fresh wave of discordant voices in the film world.

Talking about the Union Health Minister taking objection to scenes showing the star smoking a cigarette in his forthcoming 'Don', Shahrukh says, ''I will not go to the extent of saying that smoking is artistic in cinema and that is why we are having this problem.

However, the larger issue involved here is today it is smoking in films, tomorrow what?'' ''I truly believe that Indian masses are literate enough to know that there is no more a Humphrey Bogart kind of smoking that one would start smoking as an actor does. Also, for most of them, it is a very small issue.'' ''I feel that the powers that be should look at bigger health issues than smoking in films,'' Shahrukh said in an interview to a TV channel this week.

To the argument by the authorities that smoking scenes be banned as cigarettes are injurious to health, Shahrukh said, ''I'd like to appeal to any authority that if smoking is bad, do not permit production of cigarettes in the country. My logic is you are not stopping it despite telling that its harmful just because it gives a revenue to the Government. Then don't stop my revenue. After all, I am an actor and am supposed to do a job and get revenue from it.'' Shah Rukh Khan recently opposed the proposal of branding a film with smoking scenes under the category of 'A' by the Censor Board.

Also opposing the idea of banning smoking scenes in films is Bollywood actor Gulshan Grover who considers any such proposal as a curb on an actor's creativity. ''If you feel smoking is injurious to health, ban production of cigarettes. If you can't do it, why stop actors from endorsing these products or ban smoking scenes?'' Gulshan Grover said.

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