NEW DELHI, May 10: Will Maachis remain privy to adult eyes only now that it has won the ``popular and wholesome entertainment film'' award for 1996? The first adult certified film to bag an award in this category, it has become the flashpoint for a debate on the relevance of an ``adult certificate'' in an age of unhindered satellite broadcasting.

Filmmakers question the logic of giving this essentially ``clean'' film an adult certificate. ``Censors often make silly mistakes, and Maachis is one of them. I don't agree with film censorship in the first place, but even if a film has to be censored, it should be done with great responsibility,'' pointed out Shyam Benegal. Benegal said that just because politicians had raised a hue and cry about the film in Parliament, ``censors should not have got carried away and passed judgements on that basis''.

Basu Chatterji, a member of the National Jury, commented that the Government on the one hand recognised a film as wholesome entertainment, and conversely clamped an ``Adults'' certificate on it. ``Many films are shown uncensored on cable television. Maachis doesn't have the sex and violence one sees in other Hindi films,'' he said.

However, Censor Board chief Shakti Samanta disagrees. ``I maintain that Maachis deserves an adult certificate. I still receive objections from many quarters. I agree that adult certified films are seen on satellite channels and in theatres. ``But it's up to state governments to implement the censors' decision. ``We have brought this to the government's notice and have been advised to change the classifications,'' he revealed.

According to producer G.P. Sippy, the new Minister for Information and Broadcasting is talking about complete media autonomy. ``I wonder whether films are considered a medium of expression or not. Film censorship is now outdated,'' he says.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.