YRF’s latest offering–Befikre, featuring Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor passed the Censor Board test in all major senses. Neither were any kiss scenes nor the infamous Ranveer’s nude butt scene chopped from the film. However, what Pahlaj Nihalani really found offensive and worth being censored from the film was a kiss scene featuring a gay couple.
If you’ve watched Befikre without missing the beginning, you would have seen the song which comprises the initial few minutes of the film. Titled as Labon Ka Karobaar, the song is sung by Papon. The video focuses on showing couples from all age groups and different walks of life expressing carefree love. A particular scene from the video, having two people of the same sex kissing each other passionately, can’t be seen in the song which has made it to the final cut of the film. When The Quint asked Nihalani about the same, he reasoned:
Yes, we have removed the gay kiss from the first song in Befikre. The whole song is about various couples of different ages kissing all over Paris. We felt the gay kiss would not be acceptable to all the viewers.
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Earlier, when he was questioned about passing the nude butt scene in the film, he had said:
We shortened Ranveer Singh’s butt shot quite a lot. Right now it’s just a glimpse, no more. What’s wrong with it? He is alone with his girlfriend in a room. They are doing what couples do when they are alone. Why is a butt shot objectionable? We’ve allowed butt shots in some recent Hollywood films. Also in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail.
He also added:
We have to keep in mind that the romance is set in Paris where kissing is a common way of greeting one another.
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A still from Labon Ka Karobaar (Courtesy: YouTube/ YRF)
How Nihalani is a big hypocrite here
He says there’s no need to object to the kiss scenes in the film since they add to the film’s essence which is ‘loving carefree.’ He says that “They (the kisses) are done as part of the narration.” Nihalani also agrees that “Aditya Chopra has treated the kisses as part of the story. If we removed the kisses we’d be hampering the storytelling.”
What harm can a gay kiss scene possibly do then? This scene, as well, was an essential part of storytelling. It added in justifying the essence of the song–couples enjoying their freedom to express love. It was also set in Paris, where ‘kissing is a common way of greeting each other.’ And also set in a society, where there’s comparatively more acceptance of same-sex couples.
Well, it’s Censor Board and its logics are like:
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