Cut them out, Kanu

A still from the film

During our last conversation with Kanu Behl, the director wasn't worried about Agra - which explores the subject of sexual repression - having a hard time with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as his previous experience with the board was "reasonable" (To find a producer is the toughest bit, Aug 6). Unfortunately, the film has now had a run-in with the board. It has granted Behl's movie an ‘A' certificate, with two instructions - that a scene with frontal nudity be replaced with another visual, and a sex sequence be deleted altogether.

Kanu Behl

A copy of the CBFC certification is in mid-day's possession. A source tells us, "They have asked for a few expletives to be eliminated, which the makers agreed to. However, the team is deliberating over the remaining two instructions. For a film that explores the protagonist's sexual journey, the two sequences are crucial to the narrative." Over the next few days, the director and the team at Saregama's Yoodlee Films, which has produced the Mohit Agarwal and Priyanka Bose-starrer, will decide whether they will accept the cuts or head to the court to challenge the board's decision.

The news about the CBFC's objections to Agra's scenes is likely to add to the ongoing discourse about censorship in Indian cinema. The subject came under the spotlight recently with Dev Patel's Monkey Man, the release of which remains in limbo.