It seems the Indian censor board has now become far more liberal than its international counterparts. While in India Raj Kumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt bio-pic Sanju, all set for release this Friday, in spite of its allegedly controversial moral stance on Sanjay Dutt’s culpability as a terror-accused, has been given a ‘UA’ certificate by the Indian censor board, in the United Kingdom the film has been rated ‘15’ which is to say, non-adults below the age of 15 are not allowed to see Sanju in Great Britain.
The reason given by the British Board Of Film Certification for barring children and teenagers under 15 from seeing Sanju is “drug references, drug misuse, infrequent strong sex references.” While Prasoon Joshi, the chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification remained unavailable for comment, former CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani commented, “I think the censor board has gone from sanskari during my tenure, to liberal in no time at all. If a film that is seen to be unsuited for audiences under 15 in the UK is Okayed for children under 12 accompanied by adults in India, then we should definitely feel liberal as a nation.”
