10 Bollywood films that were banned in India because of controversies
Last updated on - Nov 23, 2017, 13:48 ISTShare fbsharetwsharepinshare
01/1110 Bollywood films that were banned in India because of controversies
The Bollywood film industry produces the largest number of films in a year. However, apart from all the hits, flops and the average, there exists another brand of Indian cinema which is deliberately kept out of our reach. And that includes films that indulge in strong language, suggestive scenes, gender taboos, Kashmir issues, religion and basically all movies which are way ahead of its time. But unfortunately, the audience isn't always at peace with the content that is made. So here are 10 Bollywood films that were banned in India because of controversies.
02/11'Bandit Queen' (1994)
Bandit Queen was based on the life of Phoolan Devi and was considered to be 'offensive', 'vulgar', 'indecent' and almost laughed at the cinematic conservatism of the Indian Censor Board. The subject was such. This Shekhar Kapur movie was banned due its explicit sexual content, nudity and abusive language, which the Censor Board could obviously not digest.
03/11'Fire' (1996)
Deepa Mehta is known to make strong content-driven films. However, in India, this translates to controversy. Among others, one such movie was 'Fire' which garnered a lot of critical acclaim worldwide but failed to impress Hindu groups (like Shiv Sena) in India due to its subject, which dealt with the lesbian relationship between two sisters-in-law in a Hindu family. The controversy ended with the lead actors, Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das along with their director Deepa Mehta receiving death threats and the Censor Board finally banning the movie in the country.
04/11'Kama Sutra - A Tale Of Love' (1996)
Now, isn't it ironic that this film faced the wrath of the Censor Board which termed it 'explicit', 'unethical' and 'immoral' for the audiences, despite belonging to the very own nation that came up with the concept of Kama Sutra? This Mira Nair movie, which depicted the lives of four lovers in the 16th century in India, was a hit with the critics but a major flop with the Censor Board and ultimately got banned. Now isn't that tragic?
05/11'The Pink Mirror' (2003)
While experimental movies became the norm, gender issues was still a touchy topic to explore. 'The Pink Mirror' by Sridhar Rangayan is one such movie which brought the concept of trans-sexuality to the forefront. The story dealt with the quest of two transsexuals and a gay teenager to seduce a straight man. The Censor board obviously got offended by the 'vulgarity' in the movie and banned it even after the film garnered rave reviews at film festivals around the world.
06/11'Paanch' (2003)
'Paanch' which was an Anurag Kashyap movie, faced a lot of heat from the Censor Board. Said to be based on the Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders in 1997, the movie was a thriller with high octane violence, crass language, and drug abuse. No wonder, the Censor Board decided to ban the film and people awaiting the release of the movie had to make-do with the pirated version of the film.
07/11'Black Friday' (2004)
This Anurag Kashyap film that was loosely adapted from the famous book 'Black Friday - The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts' by S Hussain Zaidi, was considered too dark to be released in India. The movie faced a stay order from The Bombay High Court because of the 1993 Bombay blasts case and remained slated-to-release until the trial got over.
08/11'Sins' (2005)
'Sins' portrayed the erotic journey of a Kerala priest who falls for the charms of a woman and gets sexually involved with her. Filled with obsession, lust and his struggles with the norms of the society he lived in, 'Sins' did not go down well with the Catholics. They thought the film projected Catholicism in a very immoral light. The Censor Board too had issues with the nude scenes in the film and hence the movie did not see the light of the day.
09/11'Water' (2005)
‘Water’ is another masterpiece helmed by Deepa Mehta which faced a lot of controversies for its dark insights on the life of the Indian widow. Set in a certain Ashram of Varanasi, the script of the movie was written by none other than Anurag Kashyap and took up controversial issues like ostracism and misogyny which were naturally alien to the Censor Board. Not only was the movie widely attacked by protestors, around 2000 fanatics even destroyed the sets of the film.
10/11'Firaaq' (2008)
This film dealt with the topic of Gujarat riots. 'Firaaq' was reportedly based on true incidents which happened in the riot-torn Gujarat. Nandita Das was widely criticised for hurting the sentiments of Hindus and Muslims and ultimately the movie got banned. But what came as a major achievement was the fact that the movie finally saw a release date and upon its release, garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.
