Now, a ban on Kannada slang in movies

Regional Censor Officer Nagendra Swamy said, “Till now, there were only guidelines and no words or phrases were specifically forbidden from being used. But since the new list has come, we are planning to translate them into Kannada and implement them.“ There was already a strict `no' to some words and the RCO had such words muted from Kannada films.“The guidelines say that there should be no vulgarity and especially anything that are derogatory to women. So if there were words like 'sulemaga' 'bolimaga' or 'munde' we never allowed them. Even English words like bitch, bastard and f**k were not allowed,“ Swamy said.Some of the other words that are not allowed include andu (ass), gandu, chakka, and shikandi. “We also have to look at the context. If the words are used, say, as part of a proverb, we may allow it. But even then, if prima facie any word looks objectionable, we have to give explanation for allowing it. In the film Thippaji Circle, we allowed the word soole (prostitute). It was used in a social context where a daughter tells her mother that she does not want to be a prostitute. If we had deleted that word, the context would have lost its meaning.“ But the real problem is that of using words to titillate. Swamy, said, “There is no ban on nudity in the guidelines. If it is shown artistically, we will allow it. But what you see is fullclothed people gyrating in vulgar movements. Double entendres are numerous.” The RCO in Bengaluru however faced some unique problems. “Some cuss words which have come to Kannada from Hindi have taken on a different meaning. 'Harami' does not mean the same in Hindi and Kannada. Now that this word is in the list prepared by the chairman, we will have to stop allowing it in Kannada films too. We used to allow that word till now.” Ever so often, there is a controversy when a particular word is deleted from films by the censor board. One Kannada word led to a huge discussion recently. The word, 'baddimaga' is being commonly used in films. It originates from 'boddimaga' which is a vulgar usage meaning bastard. However, in recent colloquial usage it has morphed into 'baddimaga' and taken on different meanings. Since 'baddi' means loan interest in Kannada, baddimaga took the meaning of a person who cheats. The board is now allowing this word to be used in films. Another word that will now face the blacklist for having a changed meaning is 'ganchali.' In Kannada it had come to mean nothing more than arrogance.But it originates from a Hindi word meaning ass. Since the English word 'ass' is now banned, the word ganchali will disappear from Kannada films.