When it comes to international releases, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) seems to be in an overdrive. Recently, mid-day reported that the Prasoon Joshi-led board had snipped over two minutes of the Oscar-nominated film, The Brutalist (We don’t talk about sex? Feb 24). Now, it has come to light that Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl, which made waves around the globe upon its December outing, faced cuts before its February 21 release in India. Despite granting it an ‘A’ certification, the CBFC snipped about three minutes and 38 seconds of the movie.

Director Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller revolves around a CEO, who begins an affair with a young intern in her company. Sources suggest that the board’s cuts went beyond nude scenes.

A source close to the film’s Indian distributors reveals, “We were prepared for the CBFC to demand alterations to full-frontal nudity, but the removal of explicit language was unexpected. They have cut the word ‘motherf***er’. Babygirl is for an adult audience, so sanitising it further seems excessive. They have deleted scenes depicting sexual acts, amounting to over one-and-a-half minutes’ cut. A few masturbation scenes have been cut, which is another minute-and-a-half.”

In the recent past, films like Saltburn were subjected to rigorous censorship in India despite carrying an ‘A’ certificate. The source adds, “The CBFC has been unpredictable. In Deadpool & Wolverine [2024], cuss words were passed.”

A CBFC insider, on condition of anonymity, says that such cuts affect a movie of Babygirl’s nature. The insider says, “The film’s raw emotionality gets dulled down when you start policing expression to this extent. These decisions are made under pressure from conservative groups, who believe content should be tailored to Indian sensibilities.”