Censoring web content a stupid idea: Vikramaditya Motwane

A lot of debate is going on over the possibility of censoring digital content in India, and filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane doesn't sound too eager about it. In fact, he doesn't subscribe to the idea of censorship at all.

"Censorship is a stupid thing. There should be certification and not censorship. People are smart enough to understand that if a film is meant for kids, then kids will watch it and if a film is meant for adults, only adults will watch it. I have not understood till date why we censor adult films. If someone over 18 can get married, produce children and drive cars, why can't they watch a movie?" Motwane told IANS. 

Motwane is the showrunner of the upcoming second season of "Sacred Games", which has been widely applauded in its season one but also been noted for its uncompromised content related to nudity, violence and language. 

"There should be a certification process to suggest if a particular film is suitable for 12-year-olds, 15-year-olds or 18-year-olds. The same thing I think applies for the internet. Every episode has a warning at the start, which mentions that it is only for the viewing of 18 years and above. If you are irresponsible as a parent and don't know what your kids are watching, that's your problem. It's not the creator's duty to create every show in a way that a six-year-old can watch it. I think we have been very responsible with the show in terms of our content," he added.

Motwane says being the showrunner of the second season did not leave him with much time to co-direct the show this time, as he did with Anurag Kashyap in the last season. 

"Being the showrunner for the second season, I had a lot of work to do -- and it is actually a lot of work. The show needed me to step away from the directing duty, and hence this decision."

Sacred Games has a format whereby Anurag Kashyap and Neeraj Ghaywan will be directing specific aspects of the story, and then showrunner Motwane collates everything together in collaboration with the technical crew. 

Season two of the film premiers on Netflix on August 15.