Universal Pictures had decided ape man It is scheduled to release in cinemas in India on April 19, 2024, but has not yet been officially released in the country. Photo: Special Arrangement
Revenge drama directed by Dev Patel ape manAccording to a source, ‘Dangal’, a film based on a horrific version of India, is yet to be seen in the country as the Central Board of Film Certification has blocked its release by not scheduling a screening of the film for its advisory panel, without formally banning it.
This is despite the fact that Universal Studios has already made changes to its original cut of the film, clipping scenes that emphasised the nexus between religion and politics. The version of the film released in cinemas worldwide on April 5 and on streaming platforms in recent months does not include these scenes. In addition to the cut scenes, Universal Studios has also changed the colour of political banners in the film from saffron to red.
Hindu These cut scenes were obtained and reviewed ahead of the planned release of a Blu-ray Disc that includes the deleted scenes as an extra feature, which will be available overseas soon.
no screening
Universal Pictures had scheduled the film to release in cinemas in India on April 19, but it has not yet been officially released in the country. According to a source with direct knowledge of the film’s journey through the censorship process, this is because the CBFC, which is in a position to ban or approve the film, has simply refrained from scheduling its screening. ape man to your investigation committee.
Both the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, notified in March, and its predecessor 1983 version, prescribe a five-day deadline for a film to be sent to the examining committee, which, after viewing the film, decides what changes, if any, should be made. This deadline expired in May, and the film has still not been viewed by the censors.
In response to information sought under the Right to Information Act, the CBFC refused to give any details about its scrutiny of the film. HinduCBFC chief executive Smita Vats Sharma upheld the decision of her transparency officer to withhold these details under the Right to Information Act.
Warner Bros. Pictures India, which distributes Universal Pictures’ films in the country, declined to comment. A Universal Pictures spokesperson did not respond to questions about the changes made to the film.
‘political reasons’
Actor Makrand Deshpande plays an influential religious leader in the film, and the scene in which he is introduced to the audience was clipped from the film’s global release. In an interview with film critic Siddharth Kannan in April, Mr. Deshpande said that Mr. Patel, who is also another religious leader, said that he is a man who is working with his religious leader. ape manThe director and one of its producers told him at the premiere that the cut was made for “political” reasons. The scene was the “soul” of the film’s message and his character, Mr Deshpande, regretted it.
In this scene, Mr. Deshpande’s character Baba Shakti meets a gangster-turned-politician from the ruling party – in the film’s fictional world, the Sovereignty Party, described as the ‘Saffron Party’ – which has not yet achieved national power but is doing well in elections. The politician scolds the godman, calling him a ‘traitor’, and says, “He [a saffron party leader] He said, “They promised to give you land, right? …You can fool the public, not me.”
“Your power is in the pills, and my power is in these beads,” says Baba Shakti, picking up a rosary. rosaryThen a corrupt police officer kills the politician and says, “What did you think? We’re going to let a mullah run this city?”
On the religion-politics nexus
In another deleted scene from the film’s climax, a whispering child’s voice recites a prayer in Hindi while the camera pans to a scene of destruction caused by Mr. Patel’s character at a nightclub. In the film, the character is avenging his mother’s murder during the leveling of a village for land acquisition. At the end of the deleted scene, the camera stops at a painting of Lord Hanuman during the mythical Lanka Dahan, while Baba Shakti lies dead at the hero’s feet.
The third deleted scene shows a newsreader referring to a crackdown on the “LGBT community” while real-life footage of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) appears on screen. (The CAA protests are briefly shown in the released version of the film.)
“Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics don’t understand religion at all,” Baba Shakti said in a deleted scene. “Faith is the most magnificent weapon. For his faith, a person can tear himself to pieces without money. That’s how empires are built.”
