Nastasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 8, 2016)

31st October, a film based on the aftermath of the Indira Gandhi assassination, has finally been green-lit by the Revising Committee of the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) after a four-month wait. The relieved producer, Harry Sachdeva, admits that he had to make some modifications but without affecting the authenticity of the cinematic projection.

"It took time but we were eventually able to convince the censor board to retain the scenes which brought out the realism of the story and which were important to the narrative. There's a reason for bringing this subject to the screen and justice needs to be done to the subject," he argues.

Speaking about the changes he had to make, Sachdeva informs that many of the scenes depicting violence and bloodshed had to be edited. "I took nine major cuts. The censors insisted that some of the scenes and dialogue could instigate a particular community so needed to be toned down. The Revising Committee made us re-submit the film several times, trimming down scenes that they had issues with by six-seven minutes. All verbal abuses have been beeped, even something as common as 'saala' on several instance," he sighs.

The film is set in Delhi in 1984.Since the capital city has changed a lot since our former Prime Minister's assassination by her two Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, they recreated Delhi in a village in Ludhiana.

The political thriller features Soha Ali Khan who plays a terrified Sikh woman who along with her husband Vir Das, twin sons and a one-year-daughter, dashes from one end of Delhi to the other on that fateful day. Vir trained in action for four-five months and Soha learnt Punjabi for her role.