Amitabh Bachchan says even now ‘questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression’

Amitabh Bachchan has said that questions are being raised on the concept of freedom of expression when it comes to cinema even today. The actor talked about censorship and expression during his appearance at the inauguration of the Kolkata International Film Festival 2022 on Thursday evening. Also read: Amitabh Bachchan’s fan breaks security cordon at Jalsa, falls at actor’s feet

The grand film festival was inaugurated in the presence of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as well as several Bollywood bigwigs, including Amitabh, Shah Rukh Khan, Jaya Bachchan, and Rani Mukerji among others. Shah Rukh also delivered a speech on the occasion, parts of which were shared online by the actor’s fan clubs.

In a video shared by news agency ANI, Amitabh addressed the gathering from the stage and spoke on cinema and censorship. He said, “The 1952 Cinematograph Act set out the structure of censorship as it stands today upheld by the film certification board (Central Board of Film Certification). But even now, ladies and gentlemen–and I am sure my colleagues on stage will agree–questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression.”

At the event, Shah Rukh Khan also sent a veiled message to social media trolls as his upcoming film Pathaan is facing boycott calls on Twitter. Concluding his speech at the festival, the actor said, “The world has become normal. We are all happy, I am the happiest. And I have no objection in stating that duniya kuch bhi kar le, main aur aap log aur jitney bhi positive log hain sab ke sab, zinda hain (me, you all and all the positive people are alive).” His final ‘zinda hain’, delivered in the style of his character from Pathaan, drew cheers from the large crowd gathered there.

The festival also saw Arijit Singh sing a few lines of his song Gerua from the 2015 film Dilwale while gesturing towards Shah rukh, on whom the song was picturised. Shatrughan Sinha called for Shah Rukh to be declared ‘national superstar’ in his speech.

Amitabh was most recently seen in Sooraj Barjatya’s Uunchai, which was a moderate success at the box office. The actor recently wrapped up the shoot of the 14th season of his popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati.