It’s no secret that the Censor Board in India is a little too happy when it comes to asking for cuts in movies. While sometimes those cuts are warranted, at other times, the changes asked for made little sense to both, the audience and the filmmakers.
Whatever be the case, here are the films where Censor Board ordered so many cuts, it was almost as if the entire film went under the knife:
1. Grand Masti: 218 Cuts
The adult comedy Grand Masti underwent 218 cuts before its final release. In fact, this was the very reason cited by the Censor Board to Bombay HC in response to a PIL seeking a stay on the film’s release on TV.
2. Kyaa Kool Hai Hum 3: 150 cuts (including replacements and voluntary deletions)
The film, that was branded as ‘India’s first porn-com’, released with an A certification, after a total of 150 cuts. You can see the complete list of cuts here.
3. Angry Indian Goddesses: 18 cuts
After opening at the Toronto Film Festival, Angry Indian Goddesses was initially denied a certification by the film board. The makers then shared voluntary cuts with the examining committee, in order to get a go-ahead for the release. That was when CBFC asked for additional 18 cuts, which included muting words like ‘adivasi’ and blurring the images of Lakshmi and Kali.
4. Haider: 41 cuts
Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider was allowed to release with a U/A certification, but only after the film underwent 41 cuts, which included muting of words like ‘f**cked’. However, some reports suggest that 35 of these 41 cuts were voluntary.
5. Lipstick Under My Burkha: 17 cuts
Initially, CBFC barred the film from releasing, stating that the ‘story is lady oriented, their fantasy above life.’ Consequently, the makers appealed to Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, which ordered the film’s release with 17 cuts and ‘A’ certification.
6. Miss Lovely: Asked for 157 cuts initially, ultimately released with 4 cuts
The 2012 National Film Award winner drama film was a drama exploring India’s C-grade film industry. Director Ashim Ahluwalia shared that the CBFC initially asked for 157 cuts. However, Ahluwalia fought to release the film without cuts, and after four rounds of review, the film released with 4 major cuts.
7. Udta Punjab: Asked for 94 cuts initially, ultimately released with 1 cut
From names of cities to abusive words, CBFC asked for 94 cuts, through its 13-pointer suggestion list, in Udta Punjab. The filmmakers fought against the cuts, and the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court ultimately ordered the release of the film with just one cut.
9 names of cities is 9 cuts.. two words from songs are two cuts.. on the last count they were 94 cuts as per the 13 points..
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) June 8, 2016
8. Mastizaade: 381 cuts
Released with an ‘A’ certification, the final version of adult sex-comedy Mastizaade included a whopping 381 cuts, of which 349 cuts were voluntary and 32 had been suggested by CBFC.
9. Kaalakandi: 73 cuts
Thought Delhi Belly released with no cuts, CBFC initially suggested 73 cuts for director Akshat Verma’s second film Kaalakandi. However, while the film’s release was pushed to incorporate the cuts, it wasn’t specified if all of the suggested cuts were incorporated. Especially since Pahlaj Nihalani, who was the chairperson at the time of suggesting the cuts, was no longer heading CBFC.
The Central Board of Film Cuts?
