While we were hoping that the headline of this article would be “Fifty Shades of Grey Not Banned In India” or “Censor Board Helps India Redefine Kamasutra Again”, we realise that we were probably being way too optimistic.
The Censor Board has banned the theatrical release of the film-adaptation of the steamy novel in India.
Surprise, surprise.
While no one is really taken aback by the decision, many fans were hoping that the heavily edited, no-nudity version, with toned down sex scenes may just be allowed.
But even after the studio made voluntary edits to the film before it went for review, the censors objected to some of the dialogues.
The film was released in February and is estimated to have grossed at least $400 million worldwide. However, many countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Kenya have banned the film, probably uncomfortable with its kinky storyline.
Interestingly though, according to a Washington Post report , the ” actual sex and sexual-related activity” in the movie is approximately 14 mins 17 seconds out of the total runtime of 125 minutes.
If you have read the book, or even heard about it, this is the point where you will be like:
It is generally agreed, mommy-porn attribute aside, the premise of the book is pretty messed up. Moreover, was there enough content in the book to even warrant a movie? Probably not.
So when people tell you that the movie is actually better than the book, curiosity merits we give it at least a try. Which is why we feel the censors could have recommended more edits to appease the conservative majority instead of an outright ban on it.
Because we may have liked to watch it once before flushing it out of our memories. Now if we end up downloading it, whose fault would that be?
When E. L. James wrote Fifty Shades of Grey, she was not really expecting it to be such a global (turn-on) phenomenon. In fact, she was downright surprised by the success of her steamy novel, which has, quite literally, captured the imagination of the people.
So we doubt the movie getting banned in a couple of countries is gonna make that much of a difference to this first-time novelist.
