The Indian film industry's nightmare, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), is affecting the creativity of filmmakers. It is now haunting Nawazuddin Siddiqui's movie Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, which has received an 'A' certificate.
If you have watched the trailer, you will understand that CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani would definitely have a problem with the scenes. According to reports, the CBFC gave an 'A' certificate to the movie, but suggested 48 cuts.
That's not it. The sad part is how the CBFC members treated the producer and director of the movie. Producer Kiran Shroff revealed that they abused her and asked her how a woman could make such a film.
On the other hand, Pahlaj told director Kushan Nandy that he wanted to ban the movie. Kiran and Kushan exposed CBFC members' treatment towards them in an interview with Bombay Times.
Kiran Shroff revealed: "They (CBFC) had an internal discussion for an hour after the screening. First, they told us that they were giving us an A certificate. Then they told us that there are 48 cuts. We argued that if the film is for adults, then why have so many cuts."
"They didn't bother much and continued to explain each cut and their logic behind it. In the middle of that, a lady officer turned to me and said, 'Aap aurat hokar aisi filmein kaise bana sakti hain'."
"And before I could speak up, a man in the committee said, 'But she is not a woman. Look at what she is wearing.' I was dumbfounded. This is such a regressive thought. I was on the verge of saying that a lady officer in the committee is also wearing the same attire, so does that mean she too is not a woman? But I didn't say a word because sadly, this is the kind of humiliation producers have to put up with. If they are judging me by my clothes, I can imagine the parameters they must have used to pass my film," she added.
Now, read what director Kushan said. "First and foremost, we don't have humping scenes. They are love-making scenes. I am shocked and appalled with what has happened. If you notice the cuts, there's a sentence, 'Yeh kaahe ka c******a hai.' We use such sentences in our everyday life. The excuse given to us is that children also sneak into cinema halls to watch adult films. How is that my problem? Penalise the cinema halls for this, not the producers. The way they have dealt with our film is insulting. They humiliated Kiran (the producer) which is unpardonable," he said
"I also met Pahlaj in private. He said, 'You are lucky I'm not banning your film.' When I argued that there are no grounds to do that, he retorted, 'What are these abuses? Do you plan to make a dictionary of bad words?' He even asked me to change lines like 'Maa ka lehenga' to 'Maa ka anchal.' In short, the essence of what is being said is lost. He told me, 'c*****a ko tutiya kar do.' He is basically trying to teach us to make a film. And finally, he told me to remove the line that has 'khada' in it. He said, 'I will never let it pass because I am abused for my song Khada Hai Khada Hai to this day.' I'll fight this till the end," Kushan added.
Now, Kushan and Kiran have approached the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal for some revisions in the cuts.
Watch the trailer of Babumoshai Bandookbaaz here:
