Sharmila Tagore, our chief film censor, said in an interview with Reuters that state censorship was more transparent and preferable to street censorship enforced by angry mobs or political groups. Here are five recent films that did not have a smooth ride with India's censors — both official and self-appointed:
- Mumbai Aamchich was denied a certificate this year because the film board said it endorsed the idea that the city of Mumbai belongs only to people from Maharashtra and everybody else should be killed.
- The Da Vinci Code, a thriller which suggests Jesus Christ had a child with Mary Magdalene, was passed by the film board on the condition it include a disclaimer saying it was fiction. However four Indian states decided to ban the film following protests from Christian groups.
- Brokeback Mountain, which explores the homosexual romance between two American cowboys, was released in India with an over-18 certificate despite homosexual acts being technically illegal in the country. Scenes involving nudity were cut.
- Parzania was set during the bloody Gujarat riots of 2002 in which around 2,500 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. The film was passed by the censor board but cinema owners in Gujarat were pressured into not showing the film by hardline Hindu groups.
- Sharmila Tagore said she loved the Mike Nichols' film Closer, but could not give it a screening certificate because the producers would not agree to cut sexually explicit dialogue.
