Days after news of Pahlaj Nihalani’s ouster from the Central Board of Film Certification was dismissed, the censor board has struck heavily against two films. The first is Kushan Nandy’s Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bidita Bag. The censor board has demanded 48 cuts following which an Adult certificate will be offered. According to a report in the Times of India newspaper, the censor board has asked Nandy to get rid of profanity and trim “humping scenes” by 80%. Nandy claimed that CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani told him, “You are lucky I’m not banning your film.” Nandy added that Nihalani was adamant to lose the word “khada” from Babumoshai Bandookbaaz because “I am abused for my song ‘Khada Hai Khada Hai’ to this day”.
The film’s producer, Kiran Shroff, also alleged that the CBFC members misbehaved with her, even questioning her gender identity. Shroff claimed that during an argument over the cuts, a female examining committee member accused Shroff of producing a movie with risque content despite being a woman. To this, Shroff alleged, another committee member added, “But she is not a woman. Look at what she is wearing.”
Most of the cuts demanded by the board have to do with profanity.
Meanwhile, Jayan K Cherian’s Malayalam film Ka Bodyscapes is still struggling to get a censor certificate. An 18-member team recently travelled to Thiruvananthapuram to review the film after the Kerala High Court issued a notice to Nihalani to announce his verdict on the film this year.
While nine members agreed to pass the film with a few cuts, the rest disagreed, according to a Mid-Day report. This is the second time the CBFC is reviewing the film, which revolves around the relationship between two men. The first review screening for Nihalani was arranged in February after the film was refused a certificate in July last year. The board now has two weeks to reach a conclusion regarding Ka Bodyscapes and furnish adequate reasons for its delay.