Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 1, 2016)

On Sunday, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asked the makers of upcoming Hindi film, Chapekar Brothers to remove a scene that shows a Christian missionary being killed for forcing Hindus to convert during the British Raj. The makers objected, citing that National Award winning Marathi film, 22 June 1897 (1979), based on the revolutionaries, included a similar scene. The CBFC, however, refused to accept the reference as legitimate. Now, the film’s initial release date (September 2 ) has been pushed back by a fortnight.

The film’s producer Ghanshyam Patel says, “Though ours is a watered-down version of what they showed in the Marathi film, the CBFC still insisted that we cut the scene. They told us that the Censor Board rules are different now than they were in the '70s and '80s. But how can we tamper with history? The Chapekar brothers were against religious conversion and the autocracy of the British Raj.”

A unit hand, who was present during the screening on Sunday, was told by a Censor Board member, “Is there any reference to a Catholic priest in the books (they have based their research on)? Beating up a priest minus any solid proof can lead to chaos in the community. Deleting it won’t harm the film.” The hapless producers are, however, still planning their next course of action to ensure that there’s no further delay in release. “We will first resubmit the copy with relevant disclaimers and cite references. We were told that they can give us a ‘U’ Certificate only if we cut the scene. It is a four-minute scene but it is integral to the plot.”

When we reached out to Pahlaj Nihalani, he told us that he is yet to sign the Censor certificate and isn’t in a position to comment.