The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), known for its strict ways of functioning, was founded in 1951. The films in India can be screened in theaters and on TV only after they are certified by the Censor Board. Most of the time, the board proposes the cuts or asks to delete the scenes in the movie if they find it inappropriate. Recently, the upcoming Bollywood movie Fighter starring Deepika & Hrithik Roshan had asked for a few cuts in the movie & awarded it U/A certificate. This is not the first time when censor board has asked for cuts in the movie or deletion of the scenes.
However, few Indian films were completely banned by the censor board as they didn’t find the content of the films suitable for the Pan Indian audience, be it for their bold script or scenes or on religious issues. Some of these banned movies were later released, and many of it are still remain banned. If you are wondering, how to watch banned Indian movies, you can give YouTube a chance. Check out the list below of Banned Indian movies which stirred controversy.
Banned Indian Films List –
1. Bandit Queen (1994)
Bandit Queen is a biographical film based on the life of the notorious dacoit Phoolan Devi. The film was banned in India after the accuracy of the film’s story was debated by the real-life Phoolan Devi. The censor board provided the film “A” rating certificate due to a lot of violence and nudity in the film. The film was finally released once Phoolan Devi was monetarily compensated.
2. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is an Indian English Language erotic romance movie. The movie was banned in India and Pakistan due to excessive erotic scenes. The producers of the film used a fake title “Tara and Maya” for the film when the shooting was being done in India. The production unit was aware that the filming would not be permitted if Indian authorities came to know about the real title and content of the film.
3. Fire (1996)
Fire is Indian-Canadian romantic drama film starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. on the opening day of the film, many theaters were attacked by certain groups. Eventually, the film was banned in India due to religious insensitivity and display of lesbian relationships. Fire was one of the first mainstream Bollywood films to explicitly show homosexual scenes.
4. Urf Professor (2000)
I am sure only a few people may have heard about this movie. Urf Professor is a very dark comedy movie starring Sharman Joshi and Manoj Pahwa. The film was very dark and was relatively ahead of its times. The film was banned and it never got released. If you would like to watch, you can still watch the movie on YouTube.
5. Paanch (2001)
What a coincidence, The movie Paanch comes at number 5. Paanch is a crime thriller film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. The film has Kay Kay Menon and Tejaswini Kolhapure in pivotal roles. The film was inspired by Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders during 1976-77 in Pune. The censor board refused to give clearance to the film two times. It was banned due to glorifying violence, excessive use of drugs and double meaning dialogues. The film never got released in any form but it was leaked online in 2010.
6. Parzania (2007)
This movie traces the story of a Parsi couple that is trying to find their son who went missing during the 2002 Godhra riots. With impeccable screenplay and a great plot, this movie managed to create quite an impact. Also, it went on to win two national awards. However, the movie was not allowed to be released in Gujarat because of its controversial premise. It is one of the best films in this list of banned Indian movies.
7. Inshallah, Football (2010)
This documentary film showcases the political conditions and problems prevalent in the Kashmir Valley. It follows the story of a young boy who aspires to travel abroad and be a footballer. However, owing to the militancy charges on his father, he is denied permission to go out of the country. The film was made in an attempt to showcase the struggles and problems civilians in Kashmir have to face. But, the film was not passed by the censor board because of its sensitive subject.
8. The Pink Mirror (2004)
The Pink Mirror is a drama film focusing on Indian transsexuals. The censor board banned the film citing the reason that film was vulgar and offensive. The producer made two unsuccessful appeals after the first rejection. The film still remains banned in India where transsexuality is a still a taboo. However, the film was screened at various film festivals all over the world and has won many awards.
9. Black Friday (2004)
Black Friday is a crime drama film based on the real events of 1993 Bombay bomb blasts. The film was based on a controversial topic so Censor Board did not allow it to be released in India until the verdict in the 1993 Bombay blast case was delivered by the court. The film was banned for three years and was finally released on 9 February 2007 after Supreme Court of India allowed screening of the film.
Are you a fan of Bollywood thriller films? Here is a list of Bollywood’s best mind-boggling Psychological Thrillers that you should watch once!
10. Amu (2005)
Amu is a drama film directed by Shonali Bose based on the novel Amu (written by Shonali Bose herself). The film was based in 1984 anti-Sikh riots and starred Konkona Sen Sharma and Brinda Karat. Did you ever know Brinda Karat, the CPI-M politician from West Bengal has also worked in a film and the director Shonali was her niece? The film faced many problems from the censor board. The Censor board finally issued “A” certificate after suggested cuts. The film was later released on DVD.
11. Water (2005)
Water is an Indian-Candian drama film starring Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray, John Abraham in pivotal roles. The film is set in the pre-independence era and depicts the life of a widow at an Ashram in Varanasi. The shooting of the film faced many protests from certain groups after the script was leaked. Hence, the production was stopped in India and the film was shot in Sri Lanka with changed star cast ( Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, and Akshay Kumar were initially signed for the film). The film was shot under fake title “River Moon” to avoid any attention.
12. Sins (2005)
Sins is a romance drama film starring Shiney Ahuja and Seema Rahmani. The film received an “A” certificate from the censor board due to few controversial topless scenes. It tells the story of a Catholic priest and his affair with a young woman. The film suffered the wrath of Catholic organizations as they alleged that film showed the Catholicism in the wrong manner. Also, one group filed PIL to stop the release of the film boy court cleared the film.
13. Dazed in Doon (2010)
Ashvin Kumar, who studied at the prestigious ‘Doon School’, was invited by the school to create a film. However, once the movie was completed, the school was not happy with it. They thought it hampered the image and reputation of the school and hence, stalled the release of the film. It is extremely sad that this 55-minute coming of age story was not released in theatres.
14. Garam Hawa (1974)
Garam Hawa traces the story of the struggles and hardships of a Muslim family in the post-partition era. With such a sensitive topic at hand, the film was sure to get marred by controversies. The film was initially banned for the fear that it might incite communal tensions. Eventually, the film managed to hit the screens after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself saw the film.
15. Firaaq (2008)
Firaaq is a political thriller anthology film set in the times after the Gujarat riots in 2002. The film revolves around its effects on the lives of ordinary people. Unsurprisingly, the film was banned in Gujarat multiplexes refused to screen the film. The film has an ensemble star cast of Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Nassar, Paresh Rawal, Sanjay Suri, Raghubir Yadav, Shahana Goswami, and Tisca Chopra. The film won many awards but it was never released in Gujarat.
16. Gandu (2010)
Gandu is a Bengali drama film in black and white. The film generated a lot of controversy because of offensive language, a lot of nudity and sex scenes. As we can expect, the film made it to the list of banned Indian movies. The film was shown at many international film awards and won many awards.
17. Chatrak (2011)
Another Bengali movie in the list of banned Indian movies. Chatrak (Mushroom in English) is a drama film starring Paoli Dam and Anubrata Basu. Paoli performed a nude scene for the film. At the time of signing the film, she was not even aware that there is a nude scene in the script but later she agreed to go nude. The film caused a lot of outrage in India especially in Bengal to the explicit sex scene. The film was later screened at Kolkata film festival without sex scenes.
18. Unfreedom (2015)
Unfreedom is a drama and romance film starring Victor Banerjee, Adil Hussain. and Preeti Gupta. The film was refused certificate was by the censor board due to nudity and lesbian relationships in the film. Director Raj Amit Kumar appealed again and the revising committee proposed cuts in the film. He refused and appealed to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In response to his appeal, The film was completely banned regardless of cuts.
19. Mohalla Assi (2016)
Mohalla Assi is a satirical drama film starring Sunny Deol in the lead role. The film is loosely based on the Hindi novel Kashi Ka Assi by Dr. Kashi Nath Singh’s. The film takes a satirical approach to the commercialization of the Varanasi city. As a result, the film was banned by the censor board due to the use of offensive language and derogatory references to Hindu gods. The film is still struggling to find a release date but its preview copy was leaked online.
20. Kissa Kursi Ka (1978)
Kissa Kursi Ka has to be one of the most controversial films in this list of banned Indian movies. It was basically a satirical and humorous take on the political career of Indira Gandhi. Unsurprisingly, the movie was banned by the Indian government, who also confiscated all the prints. Sanjay Gandhi even went on to burn the negatives of the film. However, director Amrit Nahata remade the film and released it in 1978 when the Indira Gandhi government was no more in power.
If you know of any other banned Indian movies worth watching, please let us know in the comments section.
