Subhash K Jha (DNA; July 10, 2017)

Anurag Basu intended this Friday release — Jagga Jasoos — to be a big wide-screen fantasy aimed specially at children. So, he isn’t likely to be happy with the Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) verdict.

On Friday, in what must rank as one of the swiftest censorial certifying moves, Jagga Jasoos was granted ‘U/A’ with no cuts. “The film was submitted for certification on Thursday, and was cleared on Friday afternoon,” says a source.

However, this show of dexterity by the CBFC hasn’t gone down well with the team of Jagga Jasoos. A source close to director Anurag Basu bemoans, “We wonder what the censor board saw in Jagga Jasoos that made it suitable for children only accompanied by an adult.” The movie, which was in the making for around four years, is about a boy’s journey to find his father.

However, censor chief Pahlaj Nihalani defends the film’s ‘U/A’ certification arguing, “Let the film release. The world will see why we think it is necessary for children to be accompanied by an adult.”