pritesh basu
KOLKATA, 22 JUNE: For many film producers and directors, the easy route to box office success is sex and titillation. But what has psychologists concerned, especially against the backdrop of the recent spate of crimes against women, is the increasingly frequent depiction of rape, or the use of rape themes in Tollywood.
Some psychologists feel that watching rape sequences on screen may be what pushes people possessing anti-social traits, often in combination with alcohol or drugs, to actually go out and commit the crime.
Psychologists also feel that the protest rallies and marches organised to protest against the repeated incidents of attacks on women in the state help to create awareness, but such moves don’t help the society in any way unless the intellectuals and administration come up with workable measures to check such incidents.
There has been a series of movies recently produced in Tollywood, that include rape sequences, with some directors and producers justifying it saying it is intended to create awareness. 8.08-er Bongaon Local, a movie which was apparently based on the murder of a school goer at Barasat, who was killed when he tried to save his sister from being molested, was released in April 2012. Another film, Teen Kanya, was apparently based on repeated incidents of attacks on women in the state, including the Park Street rape. Incidentally, Teen Kanya was in the limelight a few months ago as screening of the Bengali movie, was initially stopped at Star Theatre as the theatre authorities thought that the movie features “anti-state statement”.
Prof. Nilanjana Sanyal, psychologist and former head of department Psychology, Calcutta University, says violent subjects attract the common viewer to a particular film.
"Such movies do not leave any effect on people who do not have possess any criminal tendency. But the primitive impulses of those with anti-social tendencies may be affected by seeing rape sequences on screen," she said.
Psychiatrist Dr Muktananda Kundu, said he had recently found violent attitudes among children. "I had asked a child to deliver a dialogue, as his favourite passtime was watching television. He said ‘Marbo Ekhane Lash Porbe Sashane (I will beat you here and your body will  be found at  the  burning ghat)’," he said, adding that this shows that violent attitudes among children develop when they watch violent sequences on television.
He maintained that crime stories from police files that are often shown on television leave far-reaching impact on children. "Steps should be taken to stop showing such programmes," he said.
Mr Haranath Chakraborty, director and a board member of the Central Board of Film Certification, said: "It is true that such sequences leaves deep impact on common people. But no one in the country has the right to stop a director or a producer from making a film. But we always ask directors to shorten the length of such violent sequences."