The Delhi gangrape has already seen a multiplicity of effects. A government-appointed committee has presented a report in record time. The government has moved an ordinance just two weeks ahead of a Parliament session. There is a gag order on the media reporting the court case. The I&B ministry has issued an advisory to TV stations. Etcetera.
Now, there is another unintended victim: item songs.
The central board of film certification has reportedly decreed that “item songs” will in future be graded as “A” (adult) content, which means they can no longer be shown on TV whose content otherwise is supposed to be U/A (universal/adult).
“Item songs are essentially adult content. We ourselves do not define what an item song is, but what we mean is that all those songs which are meant for adult consumption, either because of their lyrics or because of visuals, should be given adult certification,” Pankaja Thakur of CBFC is quoted as saying.
There is, of course, no direct correlation between the Delhi gangrape and item songs, but there is much to be read into the timing of the CBFC move, which otherwise was turning the blind eye for so long. The underlying belief seems to be that item songs, most of which showcase severely underdressed women in orgiastic settings, fashion the minds of youngsters and could have a deleterious effect in the long run.
Question: should item songs be shown on TV or not? Should they be shown at a specific hour, like advertisements for condoms? Or are we reading too much into its impact on young minds?
churumuri 
It should never be broadcast on any media (TV, Radio, etc). If a movie has an item song and has racy lyrics than the whole movie receive an “A” certificate.
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I was about to write a satire on Item songs!! Well I should have done it a week or two back!! alas
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They are irrelevant to the film most of the time and totally objectify women. Though I see no connection between these item numbers and the Delhi gang rape, I find them a sufferance and sometimes quite embarrassing, if you are watching the programme with young family members, around you.
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is there an adult RADIO?????????????
idiotic
so now you all are back to the birds and bee’s and storks, and papa found you under the bush.
muma wheres the bush i need a brother and sister
yeah telling lies to your children and grandchildren is the high moral ground.
and your children say among their friends why do adults lie.
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The dilemma of the CBFC is laughable. This is another example of copying laws from abroad, instead of using one’s brain. Abroad most films don’t have songs, whereas ours have 5 to 10 songs per film . Even if a film is pretty childish, it is customary to have so called item songs with adult lyrics and suggestive acrobatics. .I think they will end up with giving viewer rating for each song in a film. Then what about the films already released with certificates? I think for that the sarkar will appoint some ‘Item babus’ at the TV studios to decide on the spot.
In fact most of the youngsters, whom the Government wants to be blindfolded, watch what they want on the net. Banning item songs is like plugging a finger into the gushing breach of a dam.
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Some are suggesting that children can learn how a baby is born with item songs, its such a bullshit thinking. Why not try to show them a porno to teach them about making children!!! you silly
Col please explain to children:
Pallu ke niche kya hai?
Choli ke piche kya hai?
isko dikhavoge to hungama kyon hoga?
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There is this study that Pornography actually reduces Rape, unless one is into weird kind, it actually depends of the mental makeup/experience of the Rapist. Items songs are a provocateur. Common rapists rarely get an arousal, its mainly about “Power and Destruction”, the intent is sinister like an acid attack.
As the say Bikini is something that reveals a lot, and lets a lot more to imagination, I guess item songs make one salivate. In any case too much of anything just desensitize a person to it.
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Then how are they going to lure people to watch cheap remakes of Hollywood flops and movies with terrible storylines. Item songs are a prime reason for recent hits in Bollywood.
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This is a moronic rule by CBFC. This is rape of common sense!
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We are reading too much into ‘item songs’ etc The ability to see and appreciate ‘ shringaara’ without becoming rapacious is a part of culture to be cultivated,, The evil in mind is to be cut by culture and not blinding The quality of ” Chivalry” has to be brought back into usage and honoured . This practice will come out of breeing and education and requires a couple of generations to mature; After that there will still be few to whom the quality ” kamaaturanaam na bhayam na lajja” will apply but they will be few and these risk dangerous males have to be tackled through safety measures
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More dangerous than item numbers are the so called art exhibitions. Some of the paintings are in poor taste and if viewed by a child or a teenager, it can cause irreparable damage to the IQ levels and could leave a scar which can hurt throughout the life of the child.
So GOVT should issue ADULT CERTIFICATES TO SUCH PAINTING EXHIBTIONS with strict no entry for under 18s.
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In fact I will go one step further and state that India is bearable only because of item songs since time immemorial !!!
With people like Bachelor Mohan and Pramod somethingLick I am worried we will be called Hindu Talibanistan!
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Yes. That’s the only form of porn my teenage cousin gets to see.
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I think people are not getting it!! the item numbers that are being aired contains provocative terms which are not good for children, its nothing to do with an adult. While we got to a movie, CBFC rates the movie as U (Universal), UA (Accompanied by adults), A (Only Adults). But these item songs usually have the contents which would get an “A” rating, but the movie gets U or UA rating, in a way these songs must not be aired on TV.
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Nothing should be banned in a grown-up society. If anything should be considered as shoddy and worth boycotting it is the dangerous patricrchy that pervades most of mainstream cinema- most of all in the cinema of the ex-superstar of Kannada cinema….
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