Subhash K Jha (DNA; November 14, 2016)

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC aka the Censor Board) is yet to view and certify Aditya Chopra’s Befikre, starring Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor. This, despite submitting the film to the Board, two months prior to the film’s release date (December 9).

And what’s keeping them? According to sources, the CBFC does not wish to give the producers time to appeal to the Revising Committee or the Tribunal

Says a source, “Everybody knows that Befikre has several kissing scenes. It is next to impossible to monitor those kisses according to given guidelines. The CBFC also knows the Befikre team can appeal to the Tribunal and get all the kisses passed. To avoid this embarrassing situation, the CBFC intends to sit with Aditya Chopra and work out a reasonable middle-ground, so that all controversy, conflict and protest can be avoided.”

A source from the CBFC says there is no deliberate attempt to hold back the certification of Befikre. “Although Yash Raj submitted Befikre well in advance, we have not found space as yet to view the film. There is an avalanche of Diwali and post-Diwali releases queued up. As soon as these are cleared, the film will be viewed and certified. Hopefully, there will be no problems.”