India is an interesting country; sensitive yet aggressive. We consume art, we take offence, we ban art. Some would say that’s an incorrect way of approaching life but we beg to differ.
To fuel our rage against art, we have the Censor Board, which constitutionally is just a certification board (Central Board of Film Certification) but like the rest of India, takes itself way too seriously. But it’s not just the Censor Board that bans films and deletes scenes. We contribute to this mad-fiasco just as much as the Censor Board does.
Like remember the time when Billu Barber had to change its name to Billu because barbers didn’t like it? Yeah, that happens way too often with us.
P.S.- We’re not talking about the movies that were banned because that brings back a lot of bad memories and also because we’ve already done that list. You can check it out here.
So, here are 18 other movies that had to suffer in one way or another because someone, somewhere got offended:
1. Sholay was supposed to have a different climax.
Let’s start the list with our Censor Board’s contribution in retribution.
Sholay’s climax scene was denied clearance by the Censor Board because it was too violent, despite having very little or no blood visuals. Later on, an alternate, censor board guided climax was shot where the police arrives just in the nick of time and prevents the “bloodshed”.
2. Angry Indian Goddesses showed Indian Godesses in some scenes. The final cut had them blurred out.
You remember this, don’t you?
India’s first female buddy movie was well received by the general audiences. What wasn’t well received was the blurred visuals of Indian Goddesses in the background in some scenes. The reason? Indian Censor Board.
3. The bra was blurred out in one of the scenes in Queen.
Okay, first let’s all agree Queen was a queen of a movie. We all loved it, yes?
But our dear Censor Board didn’t probably love it as much as we did. The result; the bra was blurred in the scene where Kangana Ranaut is holding a bra in her hand. Not just the TV premiers of the movie blur the bra but even some prints had the undergarment blurred in theaters.
4. Heroine had Kareena Kapoor smoking in a scene. Censor Board had makers cut the scene.
Madhur Bhandarkar’s snooze-celebration was talked about for all the wrong reasons when it first came out. One of those reasons being, the Censors deleting the scene where Kareena Kapoor is seen defying the Indian morality by smoking a cigarette.
Yes, we were all pretty shaken up by the scene.
5. A scene in Rang De Basanti’s title track was scissored because it showed a horse race by the Nihang Sikhs.
If you think your favorite Bollywood movie managed to escaped the Censor shovel undamaged, you’re wrong and also quite uninformed.
After all the altercations the makers had with the Censor board and the Defense Ministry, the scene with Aamir Khan riding a horse was scissored out of the final cut of the movie.
Reason? The 20-second scene depicted a banned horse race conducted by the Nihang Sikhs.
6. Ishqiya wasn’t allowed to name ‘Gorakhpur’ anywhere, despite being set in city.
Now here’s why we should be proud of our legacy of taking offence. The iconic film set in the city of Gorakhpur had to remove all mentions of the city’s name, because apparently it was bringing a “bad name” to Gorakhpur.
7. “Sexy” was replaced with “Baby” in a song from the movie Khuddar.
Don’t remember this 1994 classic starring Govinda? You will soon.
The iconic and borderline retarded song “Sexy sexy sexy mujhe log bolein” was later changed to “baby baby baby mujhe log bolein”, because apparently Indians aren’t sexy. The number of people who remember the song by “baby baby baby mujhe log bolein” is the same number of people who think Pahlaj Nihalani is Gautam Buddha’s reincarnation.
8. Aaja Nachle landed in trouble over a song which used the word, Mochi.
Back in the day, when patronizing a Bollywood star’s comeback was relevant (did I say ‘back in the day’?), Aaja Nachle made its way to the theaters with much fanfare and trumpets.
But unfortunately for the film, it met the Censor board on the way. One line in the title track had received massive backlash from the Mochi community.
This is the line the Mochi community had objected to: “bole mochi bhi khud ko sunaar.”
9. Jodha Akbar was accused of wrongly depicting Jodha Bai as Akbar’s wife.
You would think a movie made by the most patient man on earth would escape the offence brigade, but you would be wrong as you generally are.
Jodha Akbar faced objection by the Rajput community, stating that Jodha bai was not Akbar’s wife. The movie was later released after the makers sorted out the matter with the censor board and the Rajput community.
10. Dilwale faced a ban in Rajasthan and MP over Shah Rukh Khan’s intolerance remark.
Now a movie that had nothing to do with political affiliations or logic was also banned. Told you, India is an interesting country. Dilwale faced a ban in Rajasthan and MP after Shah Rukh Khan’s intolerance remark. Prove his point for him, did we just?
11. A sex scene in Sahib, Biwi Aur Gangster had to be diluted despite an ‘A’ certificate.
Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster is just one entry in a long line of movies that faced the scissors over a love-making scene. Apparently, the bedroom scene between Randeep Hooda and Mahie Gill was mellowed down and diluted by the Censor Board, despite the film already having been rated ‘A’.
12. The love making scene in Shootout At Wadala was mellowed down.
Another instance that caused the Censor Board to pop anti-depressant pills was the love making scene between John Abraham and Kangana Ranaut in Shootout at Wadala. Several cuts and beeps later, the film opened to the general public wondering why scenes are edited out so abruptly.
13. Fanaa was banned in many parts of Gujarat over his involvement in the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
Aamir Khan’s Fanaa faced more than just the scissors of the Censor Board. The film had a stay put on its release due to Aamir Khan’s involvement in the Narmada Bachao Andolan. The film was banned in many parts of Gujarat other than making Aamir Khan’s life difficult.
14. Madras Cafe faced bans and backlash for its depiction of Tamil rebels.
Thanks to its story line that revolved around the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister, Madras Cafe faced ban and backlash from various sections of the country. Many southern Indian states proceeded with banning the movie altogether for its depiction of Tamil rebels.
Where’s realistic cinema, you ask?
15. Kaminey got in trouble for using the word ‘Teli’ (an Indian community) in one of its song.
Out of everything else a movie can get in trouble for, Kaminey got in trouble for a word in its popular song “Dhan Te Nan”. The line that goes “Teli ka tel” was objected upon by the Teli community. Subsequent premiers of the movie have the word muted. The movie had an ‘A’ certificate.
16. A scene from Haider got scissored because it featured a bare-back.
After having received 41 cuts, it was difficult for Haider to remain the movie it was set out to be. Kudos to Vishal Bhardwaj for still getting a Grade-A film across. However, what racks our brains is that one scene with a bare-back was scissored out from the final cut by the Censor Board.
17. Finding Fanny was stuck for using the word, virgin.
Deepika Padukone’s bilingual romantic comedy was stuck with the Censor Board for the most unsuspicious of reasons; having the word “virgin” in one of the dialogues.
The word eventually had to be removed from the final film for it to receive a U/A certificate.
18. Khalnayak’s ‘Choli Ke Peeche’ song was heavily attacked by right wing organizations.
No such list is complete without the iconic “Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai” song from Khalnayak. When the song first came out, it faced protests and objection from various right-wing organizations across the country.
It wasn’t until Bal Thackeray came to its defense saying there was nothing wrong with the song that the protests subsided.
