Subhash K Jha (DNA; December 13, 2016)

So Ranveer Singh’s butt is finally on display. It had to be in a Yash Raj film. When you are the biggest banner in Bollywood you can get away with bikini-clad heroines in every film and now repeated lingerie shots of the heroine (a lingerie peek in Baar Baar Dekho was censored) and even a butt-shot of Ranveer Singh in Befikre.

Says critic Raja Sen, “It is just a matter of clout. If Mr Nihalani thinks it’s okay for people to kiss in Europe, why did he object to James Bond and Monica Bellucci kissing in Spectre? This CBFC has shown complete inconsistency and arbitrariness in their rulings. Everyone should be measured by the same yardstick.”

Censor chief Pahlaj Nihalani says it (the butt) was put in “a context” and also, a mere fleeting glance. “We shortened Ranveer Singh’s butt shot quite a lot. Right now it’s just a glimpse, no more. What’s wrong with it? He is alone with his girlfriend in a room. They are doing what couples do when they are alone. Why is a butt shot objectionable? We’ve allowed butt shots in some recent Hollywood films. Also in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail.”

Nihalani also rises to the film’s smooching spree’s defence. “See, unlike Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Spectre or Tamasha where the kisses were done in lengthy shots, in Befikre the kisses are scattered and largely fleeting and all over the place. They are part of the narration. As a filmmaker, I know what can be cut without hampering the flow of the narrative. In Befikre there is no way we could cut the kisses without interrupting the flow of the story. Aditya Chopra has treated the kisses as part of the story. If we removed the kisses we’d be hampering the storytelling.”

He reveals that the kisses have been curtailed where they could. “We’ve cut all the close-ups of the kisses and the climactic kiss has been reduced by 50 per cent. The rest we couldn’t cut for apprehension of being accused of creative interference.”