Farhan Akhtar is against the ‘No Smoking’ disclaimers in films

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Farhan Akhtar strongly feels against running No Smoking disclaimers in the midst of a film.

He is keen to reach out to the concerned authorities about the No smoking disclaimers in films. The ace actor truly feels it takes away from the viewing experience and is more of a distraction than effective messaging.

Says Farhan, “Firstly, we all are in agreement that smoking is injurious to health but ask yourself, is running a disclaimer as a sub-title during a scene the solution to the problem? The answer is no.”

Farhan shares, “The only thing it successfully manages to do is take the viewer out of his or her film viewing experience. It is like putting the cinema hall lights on during a scene and expecting not to disturb the audience’s attention or cause any lapse in concentration to the story. Is that possible? The answer again is No.”

Farhan has been talking to his team and fellow filmmakers about the issue. He wants to take a concrete step and ensure a solution is worked out.

He further adds, “The film industry had willingly accepted and proudly supported the Anti-Smoking Public Awareness film by attaching it to the print and digital file, to be run before the start of the feature itself. But to have disclaimers in the film itself is stepping on the film makers toes and demanding a compromise of the creator’s integrity.”

Farhan feels running a disclaimer is more of a creative hindrance and takes away from the essence of the scene

He concludes by saying, “We have a rating system that decides viewer age limits for films and I’m sure that smoking can be dealt with through the certification system.”