JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
EXCLUSIVE: Strong possibility of Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh-Shahid Kapoor's Padmavati and Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif's Tiger Zinda Hai getting delayed
Padmavati is slated to release on December 1, 2017, and Tiger Zinda Hai is slated to release on December 22, 2017.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati (starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh) and Ali Abbas Zafar’s Tiger Zinda Hai (starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif) will be releasing this year. But going by the backlog of films sent for censor certification to the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC), the release of these films in the current scenario looks doubtful.
Another film waiting in queue to be censored is Kapil Sharma's Firangi which releases next week. Buzz is some of the international promotional events for Padmavati with its three stars, have already been cancelled.
Says a trade source, “Apparently, the CBFC has used Rule 41 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 which states that the total time limit of getting a film censored requires 68 days. There is a process involved which begins from the scrutiny of applications, formation of examining committee, forwarding the EC report to Chairman, communication of the order to the applicant, surrender of cuts by the producer, examination of cuts to the issue of certificate. The producers who have applied for the censor certificates of their films have to go through this process now. If you go by that rule, it will surely mean the delay in the release dates of films like Firangi, Padmavati and Tiger Zinda Hai and none of them will get a censor certificate till January, 2018. Recently, when Padmavati’s application for a censor certificate had come up for review, it was sent back as the paperwork was incomplete. Firangi has recently applied for a censor certificate while Tiger Zinda Hai is yet to apply. But everyone is choosing to keep a tight-lipped silence as nobody knows what's going on.”
The source adds that there are around 250 films (approx) which have to be censored in the next two months, out of which 15-20 films have already been cleared. “Apart from films, television serials, ads, home videos, trailers, music videos, Hollywood films are also censored. It looks like a very challenging task ahead to censor so many things. It’s a first time that anybody has heard of a situation where a film has been postponed because of a delay in the censor certificate as the producers have apparently been told that there’s a backlog of films waiting to be censored. The Rule 41 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, has always been there but it’s never been implemented as it’s impractical. No one can show a film 68 days in advance. There has always been a backlog of films including when Pahlaj Nihalani was the Chairperson but he always accommodated everyone as he understood the gravity of the situation and would censor films according to their release dates. If some films don’t release in November and December, what movies will the single screens and multiplexes run is the next big question? Won’t it also lead to a huge loss in revenues in theatricals? Secondly, this could result in a clash with other big releases in January and February (including Padman, Pari, Hichki etc) which have already announced their release dates in 2018 - again resulting in huge losses for all producers and distributors.”
To dispel rumours of Padmavati being postponed, Ajit Andhare (COO, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, producer of the film) had posted on Twitter on Friday, “Rumours of postponement of Padmavati are baseless.”
Despite our efforts to reach him, Chairperson of the CBFC, Prasoon Joshi, remained unavailable for comment.
A spokesperson from Kapil Sharma’s K9 Films says, “The film has been submitted at the censor office and we are expecting a reply from them soon.”
Latest Articles
