Recently, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) granted a ‘U’ certificate to Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s Phule after instructing that several caste references be removed. While the Prasoon Joshi-led board has come down hard on one chapter of history, it has cleared Akshay Kumar’s historical drama Kesari Chapter 2 with no cuts. Insiders tell mid-day that it has been given an ‘A’ certificate, with director Karan Singh Tyagi asked to submit a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Animal Welfare Board for certain sequences.

The film, also starring R Madhavan and Ananya Panday, chronicles the aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as Kumar’s character C Sankaran Nair fights for justice.

An industry insider says, “The CBFC’s current approach is haphazard. Kesari Chapter 2 is a historical drama, so was Chhaava, but both carry separate certifications. If the gore in Kesari is the reason for its ‘A’ certificate, Chhaava’s last half-hour was gory too. That said, one can argue that the makers of Kesari provided historical proof of everything shown in the film.”

Another source notes that it’s a relief that the historical drama has been cleared without any cuts. “The CBFC has become strict when it comes to films dealing with caste, religion, or political themes. Thankfully, with Kesari, they haven’t asked for any narrative changes,” says the source.

The CBFC’s snip-happy attitude has come sharply in focus again because of Phule, starring Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa. The biopic of social reformer Jyotirao Phule, who fought casteism, has been handed out many cuts. “The board has sought removal of terms ‘Mahar’, ‘Mang’ and ‘Peshwai’. In subtitles, the term ‘caste’ has been replaced with ‘varna’. The term ‘shudra’ has been removed as well,” says a source.

The board’s scrutiny was just as severe with the recent Marathi-Kannada film, Follower. The source adds, “The makers had to remove mentions of political parties and visuals of political flags.”