To get to the viewers, every film has to go through Censor Board. A lot of films in India have received the red signal from the Censor Board. In India, the Censor Board has banned a lot of films in the past decade and more films are being banned for their objectionable content. Most films are either put on hold, sent for a re-shoot or are completely banned by the government. A sexually explicit or a violent film will never be approved by the Central Board of Film Certification.
Here a list of Bollywood films that were banned in India:
Bandit Queen (1994)
The film was a biographical film which was made on the life of Phoolan Devi. The film was banned when Phoolan Devi herself questioned the authenticity of facts. The film was premiered in Cannes Film Festival and was screened at Edinburgh Film Festival.
Kama Sutra (1996)
A Tale of Love (1996): The film was made on the ancient Hindu text ‘Kama Sutra’ which was written by Vatsyayana. Though the film was made on ancient Hindu literature, ironically, the film was banned in India due to its sexual content.
Fire (1996)
This was the first mainstream film in Indian cinema which explicitly depicted homosexual relationship. The release of the film was followed by various controversies and protests which led censor board to ban the film.
Kissa Kursi ka (1977)
The film based around the Indian politics and was termed as a political spoof. The film was banned by the censor board. All the master prints and the copies of the film were burnt down by Sanjay Gandhi’s supporters.
Urf Professor (2000)
Another movie to run into trouble with the Censor Board was Pankaj Advani’s Urf Professor starring Manoj Pahwa, Antara Mali and Sharman Joshi. The movie traces the journey of the protagonist after a hit-man’s car and a winning lottery ticket goes missing and the chaos that follows. However, what irked the Censor Board were the ‘vulgar scenes’ and ‘bold language’ used in this black comedy, which ultimately led to a ban on the movie.
Hawa Aane de (2004)
The film was made about the growing tension between India and Pakistan. The film was never released in India as the censor board banned the film when the director didn’t accept the cuts as suggested by the board.
Black Friday (2004)
The film was made on the 1993 bomb blasts and was based on the book ‘Black Friday- The True Story of the Bombay Blasts’ by Hussain Zaidi. The film was controversial and moreover the verdict of the 1993 bomb blasts was still pending that the censor board decided to ban the film.
Water (2005)
The film was the last part of Element’s trilogy after ‘Fire’ and ‘Water’. Prior to the days of the film’s shoot, there were protests and the film’s sets were destroyed in the year 2000. The UP government decided to stop the shoot whereas, Arun Pathak, a human activist, organised a suicide protest to stop the production. The film was later released in 2007.
Sins (2005)
Sins is an erotic journey of a Kerala priest who falls for the charms of a woman and gets sexually involved with her. Filled with obsession, lust and his struggles with the norms of the society he lived in, Sins did not go down well with with the Catholics. They thought the film projected Catholicism in a very immoral light. The Censor Board too, had issues with the nude scenes in the film and hence the movie did not see the light of the day.
The Pink Mirror (2005)
Directed by Sridhar Rangayan, The Pink Mirror (Gulabi Aaina) is said to be the first Indian film to focus on Indian transsexuals. The story revolved around two transsexuals and a gay teenager’s attempts to seduce a straight man.The Censor Board cited that the film was ‘vulgar’ and ‘offensive’. However the movie was screened and appraised at many film festivals around the world.
Parzania (2005)
Parzania cut open the wounds of Gujarat’s scarred past, and received backlash and appreciation in equal amounts. The film was based on a superb plot which revolved around a boy called Azhar who goes missing during the Gujarat riots in the year 2002. Even though the film won a National Award, its cinematic excellence was not considered enough for political parties to let it screen in Gujarat, where it was fiercely banned.
Firaaq (2008)
Another film to deal with the Gujarat riots, Firaaq was reportedly based on true incidents which happened in the riot-torn Gujarat. Nandita Das was widely criticised for hurting the sentiments of Hindus and Muslims and ultimately the movie got banned. But what came as a major achievement was the fact that the movie finally saw a release date and upon its release, garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Gandu (2010)
The black and white Bengali film was a rap musical, which created a furore for its explicit sex scenes.The Bengali film irked the Censor Board with its explicit sexual scenes and therefore was denied a release.
Inshallah, Football (2010)
This documentary film was about an aspiring Kashmiri footballer who is denied the right to travel abroad on the alleged reason that his father is a militant. Since it dealt with the sensitive Kashmir issue, the film was denied the necessary censor certificate.
Dazed in Doon (2010)
The film produced by Ratna Pathak Shah is a coming of age story about a boy named Howly, who is trying to make sense of life at the prestigious Doon school.The Doon School appealed to the Censor Board that the film ‘spoils’ the name of the school.
Paanch (2013)
Paanch is an unreleased film which was directed by Anurag Kashyap. The film was objected by the censor board as the film revolved around drugs, sex and violence.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Just as ‘Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love’, the film was banned in India for its explicit sexual content. The Indian Censor board did not give any rating to the film, inspite of various cuts which were made.
Unfreedom (2015)
The most recent one to join this long list of banned movies in India, Unfreedom is a modern-day thriller which talks about a lesbian love story entangled within an Islamic terrorism-related angle. Bringing together two ‘taboos’ in one package, the Censor Board could not digest the nudity and the lovemaking scenes between the two protagonists. Reports also suggest that the movie was accused of “igniting unnatural passions” and hence was denied release in India, except for a few states.