Movies Banned By The Censor Board

Bollywood is known for having made movies in every genre that has entertained diverse audiences since Bollywood came into being. But in Bollywood, a few movies have been made that due to their extremely sensitive and objectionable content have been banned by the Censor Board of Film Certification of India. If we try to take a walkthrough to find the movies banned by the Censor Board, we will surely find a whole list of banned movies that could not receive standard film certification by the Censor Board in due course. So, in this discussion let us see and look through the reasons why certain movies were banned by the Censor Board to promote Bollywood as an institution making movies in the larger interests of Indian society.

Bandit Queen of filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor - 1994

Bandit Queen is one of such movies banned by the Censor Board which was directed by filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor. The movie had various scenes that exhibited vulgarity and were imbued with nudity. The movie had several abusive scenes that in the opinion of the Censor Board were against the societal and humane values of India. The movie also had objectionable sexual content provoking sexual assault against women which ultimately engendered the Censor Board to categorize Bandit Queen in the group of banned movies.

Fire movie of Deepa Mehta - 1996

Deepa Mehta’s work often gets in the whirl of controversy and so did happen with her movie Fire which was planned to be released in 1996 that provoked the Hindu sentiments as the movie showcased the lesbian relationship between two sisters-in-law of a Hindu family. The characters of the sisters-in-law have been portrayed by veteran actors Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das who owing to their controversial roles even received death threats from various groups ultimately triggering a scenario of Deepa Mehta’s Fire movie getting classified as banned movies by the Censor Board.

Pankaj Advani’s movie Urf Professor - 2000

Another banned movie by Censor Board is Urf which was set to be launched in 2000. The movie was filmed by India’s renowned filmmaker Pankaj Advani and was centered around the event when the hitman’s car and lottery ticket both go missing followed by the chaotic situation that exhibits the exchange of objectionable language by the characters in the entire movie. The movie had virtuosi in the name of Manoj Phawa, Sharman Joshi, and Antara Mali. But, what really has vexed the Censor Board to categorize Urf as a banned movie is the whole host of extremely indecent scenes coupled with abusive lingo that has the potential to provoke the instincts of individuals.

The Pink Mirror movie of 2003

Whenever movies are made on different aspects of human values it always causes concerns to be raised by different stakeholders of the society something that also happened when trans-gender-related issues are highlighted in the movie The Pink Mirror. The storyline of The Pink Mirror revolves around the fact that two trans-gender and a gay teenager trying to seduce and arouse an innocent man raising questions about the social setup of India which ultimately enraged the Censor Board to keep The Pink Mirror in the banned movies basket.

Paanch movie of Anurag Kashyap - 1997

The Censor Board gave Paanch movie a banned movie status after perusing the extreme show of violence, drug abuse, and vacuous language in a plot centered around the alleged murders of Joshi-Abhayankar back in 1997. The Censor Board was of the view that if this Anurag Kashyap’s movie got released would definitely spark a serious row amongst the gangster groups and might encourage the illicit drug trade.

Black Friday - the 2004 controversial film by Anurag Kashyap

Movies based on terror attacks or that show compromise of India’s national security and integrity are generally hammered down by the Censor Board. And the same happened when Black Friday was about to be released in 2004. The book had some loose adaptations from the Book called Black Friday - The true story of Bombay Blasts which attracted a stay order from the Bombay High Court as well until the time when the trial of the convicts connected with the Bombay serial blasts finally got over.

Deepa Mehta’s Water is set to be released in 2005

Water is another Deepa Mehta's directorial work that showcased the unacceptable views of the Hindu society owing to a derogatory exhibition of a Hindu widow that suffered from the core element of Misogyny and Ostracism. These depictions in view of the Censor Board were totally unacceptable and the pitiable portrayal of the Hindu widow actually irked the Censor Board in as much as that the Censor Board tagged Water as a banned movie.