Alcohol warning in Hindi, foreign films on the rise

CBFC requires anti-liquor watermarks in Hindi and foreign films featuring alcohol consumption, following Ministry of Health guidelines.

In recent weeks, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has started requiring an increasing number of Hindi and foreign films to display anti-liquor watermarks for films that feature alcohol consumption, The Hindu has found, based on a review of cut lists of recent films issued by the censor board. For instance, All of Us Strangers, a British film classified ‘A’ for adult-only audiences that extensively features liquor abuse, has the warning onscreen for a significant duration of the film. 

Next Goal Wins, a Hollywood film directed by Taika Watiti released in India last month, had the watermarks applied in liquor consumption scenes. Dhaaak, a Hindi film directed by Anees Barudwale, also had the requirement applied to its film in February. The horror film Late Night with the Devil also had the disclaimer applied this month.

Tobacco warnings are typically applied in Indian cinemas for all films where nicotine consumption is depicted. This requirement was introduced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare through the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Rules, 2012, which requires watermark warnings on scenes depicting nicotine consumption.

Separately, some States have passed laws requiring locally produced films to display anti-liquor warnings. For instance, Kerala’s Abkari Act has a jail penalty for films that do not display this warning, though this was proposed to be decriminalised and changed to a ₹50,000 fine through an amendment passed by the State Assembly last year — this amendment has not yet been assented to by the Governor. Tamil films display anti-liquor disclaimers for alcohol consumption scenes too. In general, brand labels of liquor bottles are blurred across all languages by the CBFC, unless the brands are fictitious.

The legal authority for sanctioning films is with the Union government under the Constitution’s seventh schedule, and this power has been assigned to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under the Allocation of Business Rules. However, the CBFC, an autonomous body under the I&B Ministry, has largely respected and enforced State laws and Health Ministry rules on warnings during smoking and liquor consumption scenes in films.

The widening application of liquor warnings for foreign and Hindi films is a relatively recent development. The requirement has been applied occasionally before, such as in 2014, when the film Happy New Year was required by the CBFC to include such a warning in order for the film to receive a ‘U’ rating — then CBFC chairperson Leela Samson had said that year that the ‘U’ rating (as opposed to the more mature ‘U/A’ and ‘A’ ratings) is the reason the watermarks were applied in this film. 

The I&B Ministry in 1991 issued a notification that said that as a matter of principle, the CBFC would ensure that “scenes which have the effect of justifying or glorifying drinking are not shown”.