Subhash K Jha (DNA; January 10, 2016)


Going by the sensitive sexual content the film was expected to get the full-on sanskaari treatment from the censor board. But The Danish Girl has been passed with no cuts and an ‘Adults Only’ certificate. Apparently there are several explicit scenes exploring the theme of alternate sexuality. These would have been censored as per guidelines, but have been spared.

Says Pahlaj Nihalani, “Contrary to the image we have, the CBFC doesn’t follow the guidelines blindly. We have gone beyond guidelines for several films in 2015 including Sriram Raghavan’s Badlapur and Navdeep Singh NH10. Unfortunately, filmmakers whom we have gone out of the way to help, have spoken against us.”

Nihalani points out that all the major blockbusters of 2015 were passed with hardly any cuts. “Whether it was Neeraj Pandey’s counter-terrorism film, Baby or a film touching on Indo-Pak relations like Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Or the other major blockbusters of the year Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Bajirao Mastani and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, they were certified with very few cuts.”

Reacting to the tirade against the CBFC by some filmmakers Nihalani says, “The three filmmakers who have the most grievances against us are Mukesh Bhatt, Prakash Jha and Anurag Kashyap. And their cinema has courted censor controversy long before I took over as the CBFC chair. Almost every film that Mukesh Bhatt has produced in recent times has been subjected to cuts. From his early Damul to Prakash Jha and his Gangaajal, Apaharan and Satyagraha, he is no stranger to censor controversies. As for Anurag Kashyap, his first film Paanch remains banned. So why point fingers at me for being the spoilsport?”