CBFC orders 14 cuts to Madhur Bhandarkar's Indu Sarkar, director appalled

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar revealed that the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) has suggested 14 cuts to his upcoming film, Indu Sarkar. The film, set in the backdrop of the Emergency era (1975-1977), has been pulled up by the CBFC for using the names of political leaders and the then government.

Bhandarkar wrote on his Twitter 'Just got out of #InduSarkar film censor screening. Am appalled at the 14 cuts suggested by the committee.Will go to the revising committee.'

Reports suggest that the board, led by Pahlaj Nihalani, has suggested the removal of a visual of the Herald newspaper carrying the names of political leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Morarji Desai, Lal Krishna Advani's imprisonment during the time. The board has also asked the removal of dialogues citing Intelligence Bureau (IB), Section Officer, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Akali Dal, Communist Party, Jayprakash Narayan, and any mention of the Prime Minister.

The board has also suggested the removal of some dialogues from the film, including 'Ab iss desh me Gandhi ki maayne badal chuke hain' (Now, the meaning of Gandhi in this country has changed), 'Bharat ki ek beti ne desh ko bandi banakar rakha hai' (India's daughter has kept the whole country captive), as well as 'Aur tum log zindagi bhar maa-bete ki ghulami karte rahoge' (And you people will slave under the mother-son forever). These dialogues are direct implications at former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.

Furious at the decision, Bhandarkar has suggested that he will contest it further. The director wrote, 'How can d dialogues in d trailer b deleted frm d film? Am i missing some logic or r difrnt yardsticks being used during censor?#InduSarkar'

Incidentally, the board's decision to remove these dialogues comes after repeated efforts by Congress party leaders like Jagdish Tytler against the film. Recently, Congress party's Maharashtra state leader Sanjay Nirupam wrote to the CBFC requesting it to screen the film before certification.

Simultaneously, Madhya Pradesh state congress leaders Vivek Khandelwal and Girish Joshi have written to the Central Circuit Cine Association (CCCA) to ban the film in Indore.