Govt should stop acting like a parent: Bhatt

New Delhi: With the government imposing stricter rules on smoking scenes in films and television, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says he is waiting for a directive from the I&B ministry before filing a PIL in the apex court. The Union Health ministry issued a notification last Friday under the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (second amendment rules), 2011.

The ministry had banned smoking scenes in films in 2005 but the Delhi High Court had overturned it on a PIL filed by Bhatt. "I thought the issue was behind us. We had dealt with it at the High Court level. We are waiting for the I&B ministry to issue directives for its implementation, then we will file

a PIL in the apex court," Bhatt told PTI.

The filmmaker said that the directives, which include running anti-tobacco health spots or messages at the beginning and middle of the film or television programme showing smoking scene or any tobacco product, is impossible to implement. "The directive is catastrophic. How can it be done with all the classic films of yesteryears, of stars like Dev Anand?

The government's concerns are understandable, but it is impossible to implement the rules," he said. The filmmaker said that the Censor Board already monitors

films with such content and issues a certificate accordingly. "The Censor Board is already there to give U/A or A certificate depending on such scenes in films. We don't need more such rules. Indian citizens are responsible people and

the government should stop acting like a parent."