MUMBAI: The Dirty Picture has proved to be a game-changer in more ways than one.The imbroglio over the telecast of Milan Luthria’s unabashed mock-biopic on the life and libido of a sleaze star, has now gone into a full-fledged discussion on whether films that are accorded an ‘A’ certificate by the censorboard should be screened at prime-time on television even after re-vision and re-censorship at the highest levels.

Sources from the Information & Broadcasting Ministry inform that a decision has been taken to prevent all films with an ‘A’ or  a ‘UA’(suitable to be seen under parental guidance) certificate to be screened during daytime.

Says the source, “At a high-level meeting recently in the I & B Ministry it was decided that only films certified for universal exhibition would be screened during daytime on television. Films that are certified ‘A’ or ‘UA’ can only be screened post 11 pm.”

This decision, if implemented would have far-reaching repercussions for the film industry.

Says a source from industry, “Producers nowadays sell satellite rights of their films for huge amounts of money. A major part of a film’s revenue comes from the television premiere. If the screening-time of films with an ‘A’ and ‘UA’ certificate on television is restricted to post 11 pm, satellite revenue would be accordingly reduced since the viewership would be seriously dented.” While an official announcement on this matter is awaited our sources confirm that the decision to keep Adult feature films out of daytime television is more or less final.