Mahesh Bhatt says India's ready for a film in which good people have sex
MUMBAI MIRROR (April 7, 2016)

Flashback to 1974 and the dawn of my cinematic career... The refusal of the Censor Board to certify my film, Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain, revolving around two gangsters and a prostitute, on the grounds that it is against the holy institution of marriage, opens my eyes to the mass perception that in Indian cinema only bad people have sex, the good ones fall in love. The film is mutilated, mauled and finally sees the light of day. It is a disaster!

Fade out...
Fade in to 2015 and a darkened auditorium... After a screening of Love Games, I am told by the Examining Committee of the CBFC that they will certify the film only if we agree to 18 cuts. I point out to Vikram (writer-director Vikram Bhatt) that nothing has changed in four decades. The power wielders are still locked in a time warp, completely out of sync with reality.

We approach the Tribunal and our film is cleared with just one sound bite muted. But the real victory is when a young RJ tells us, during a promotional tour, that Delhi is not unfamiliar with our characters — swingers in the hedonistic pursuit of carnal bliss. He candidly admits to being on Tinder himself and urging his listeners to confess to their marital transgressions on his show.

Yes, what Bollywood thinks is an aberration, is all too identifiable. India is ready for Love Games, it's time for our movie makers... and our censors... to wake up and smell the coffee because good people have sex too.