CBFC clears Priyanka Chopra's Baywatch with 'A' certificate, Pahlaj says no big deal about bikini
CBFC has cleared Priyanka Chopra's Baywatch with an 'A' certificate and 5 cuts.
Ever since the news of the release of Priyanka Chopra's Hollywood debut Baywatch in India broke, fans have been worried that the sanskaari censor board might yet again put their scissors to full use. But to our surprise, CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) has cleared Baywatch with an 'A' certificate.
According to a report in DNA, Baywatch has been cleared with only five cuts. Interestingly, no bikini shot has been chopped from the film.
Pahlaj Nihalani, chairperson of the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification), was quoted as telling the daily, "There was no rationale to cut the bikini images. For one, the series ran on satellite television in India for years and contained lengthy shots of women in bikinis."
He added that there is no big deal about women in bikinis, and therefore, there's no need to make any fuss about it. "Indian filmmakers really need to stop making such a big issue about bikinis. Go to Goa or Mauritius. The beaches are carpeted with women in bikinis. What is the big deal about such shots?" he said.
However, the CBFC has chopped off a few scenes which had cuss words. "What the Censor Board had to cut down was the language. Baywatch is crammed with cuss words and filthy language. We deleted portions where we thought the smutty language was unnecessary. But we've allowed the bad language in several dialogues because we felt cutting them took away from the flavour and intention of the words. I'd like to stress that we've given an 'A' certificate, not just for the bikinis, but for the strong language as well," Pahlaj added.
The film is set to release in India on June 2.
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