raajneeti / rajneeti (prakash jha) / rajniti
coming soon...
starring katrina kaif looking like sonia gandhi!

I'm quite indifferent to Prakash Jha movies. Some are good, somre are just ehhh.

This one has a BIG star cast, but if they speak in the shuddh Hindi of the trailer's voice-over, I seriously hope they remember the subtitles for the audience.

There have been stories in the Indian papers today about Raajneeti only just getting through the censors in India:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ente ... 981500.cms

But Raajneeti was passed by the BBFC almost two weeks ago:

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classifie ... enDocument

Do we now get (almost) uncut versions of Hindi films in the UK? As far as I can recall, most Hindi films I've seen at the cinema in the UK have the Indian censor cert at the start, the only recent exception being Kites.

As per Indian censorship laws, any and all Indian films can only be exported after being certified by the Indian censor board. Thus all Indian films shown overseas are also subject to Indian censorship. Bottom line is, that what is shown in India is what can and will be shown overseas. Any different cut would be in contravention of Indian export laws.

are you sure abt this sanjay? some indian films, banned in india, are released abroad, aren't they? and is bbfc really shown indian-censor-passed cuts...? how? what abt kites?

plus is this limited to only theatrical releases? what's the practice in home entertainmemt? case in point - sholay extended version dvd passed by bbfc, never ever released in india...?

Quite sure actually. It is covered under the 'cinematographers act'. That is why, before you can export any negatives or final prints from India, you are required to furnish an Indian censor board certificate to the customs. In fact in the case of a foreign production company shooting in India, they have to get the script approved by the Indian government. In any case, there is little point in shooting something, which may later, not be cleared for exporting out. In fact it is for this reason, that 'Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom' was shot in Sri Lanka, even though according to the script, the story plays out in India. The Indian government (censor board) objected to how 'Kali' and the thugees were projected in the film. As a matter of fact, 'Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom' has yet to be released in theaters and or on 'Home Video' in India.


Can you name 'any' such movie? Please, we are only talking of movies that are shot in India.


Can't answer regarding the specifics of how it is handled, but my guess, in answer to your question, would be, yes.


'Kites' is not a film shot in India and since, there is no exporting involved, the same rules would not apply. If anything, it would probably be covered under whatever the rules are for imported movies.


Just because it was never released in India, does not mean the producers did not get the film recertified.

thanks for the detailed replies sanjay.

regarding sholay extended/original/director's cut, it was never cleared by indian censors -- what you see in the UK on DVD was never cleared / recertified by indian censors -- the censor cert it carries is for the theatrical version released in india. and yet, bbfc classified the dvd. do you think eros pulled a fast one on bbfc?

what abt "water" (Deepa Mehta's)? did they drop the plan to shoot in india (can't remember clearly)

I cannot directly comment on the UK DVD since I have not seen it or maybe I have, but I am not sure which one it is. But, even originally the film was released theatrically with two seperate cuts. The 70MM prints were the longer cut and included the 'Soorma Bhopali' episode. Also, a few years later the film was re-released with several new scenes added, including the qawaali. Thus, there are definately several cuts of the film that have been approved by the Indian censor board. Also, in fact I remember distinctly that much later the movie was re-certified with the original original ending in which Gabbar is killed by the 'Thakur'. What are the extra and or different scenes in the UK DVD? It is quite possible that the 'Censor Board Certificate' at the beginign of the DVD may be of the incorrect cut, but nevertheless still approved by the Censor Board.

Quite possible. For, I would never rule out any possibility when India and Indian companies are involved.

Deepa Mehta's 'Water' was certified by the Indian censor board and was theatrically released in India on 9th March, 2007. By the way, inspite of all the controversy and brouhaha that took place when the film was first being shot in '2000', the shooting was never 'banned' by the Indian government. Only the Uttar Pradesh government created problems in allowing to further shoot the film in Banaras (Varanasi). To avoid any further controversies, the shooting of the film was resumed in 2004 in Sri Lanka. In fact, the movie was shot under the fake title "Full Moon" to avoid attention. Sri Lanka has gained many a times due to the folly and stupidity of Indian authorities.

sanjay, the "gabbar dying" version was never ever certified / recertified in India (sholay)... it only exists certified by bbfc for home entertainment on dvd[this is the part relevant to our discussion]

also, till date, there is no version of sholay released with qawalli, and soorma bhopali episodes were available even on 35mm. [this part is not relevant to our discussion, but still thought would add notes]

I distinctly remember that almost fourteen years ago, as part of a grand theatrical re-release, Sholay was re-certified by the Censor Board. But, due to ownership issues, that are still being fought in court, the re-release never happened. It is this re-certified version that Eros released on DVD.
I don't know how old you are, but I am old enough to have been around for the original theatrical release. When the movie was first released in theaters, there were two distinct cuts of the film. The longer cut was released with 70mm prints and the more commonly exhibited 35mm prints had the shorter cut. Later, much after it's huge success, the missing scenes from the longer cut were added to the 35mm prints also. I saw the film several times during it's initial release, both in 70mm and 35mm. Plaza cinema in CP, is where I saw the film twice in 70mm. Rachna and Novelty cinemas are the other two theaters I saw the film with the 35mm prints. I saw the film twice again during the 80's and 90's at Plaza in 70mm.

Thanks so is it really based on your friendly family Sonia Gandhi,s life? I roughly remember Monica Gandhi is your renter though!

to answer your question sanjay, though small, i was definitely around when sholay was released, and had seen the film in different theatres too

did you ever get to see the version with qawalli? anywhere?

abt recertification with gabbar-dying in india -- are you really sure this happened - or is this one the many "folklores" sholay is associated with? thx?

would you know what happens to films partly shot in india?

Nope, never have. Actually what I have heard is that the qawali was never actually picturised. Thus, that would make it's inclusion, quite impossible.
I am quite sure that Sholay was re-certified with the 'original' ending.
My guess and the logical thing would be that the same rules apply to them as for movies completely shot in India. I don't think the Indian cinematography laws make a distiction between movies shot completely in India or partially shot in India.

Very impressive film! Highly recommmeded. The first half just takes your breath away while as the second is a little stale.
Nice way of putting a mixture of Mahabharata and The Godfather with a backdrop of politics which makes the film
so very entertaining. Good performances by the cast, all done well (in this order):

Manoj Bajpai - Extraordinary
Ajay Devgan - Wonderful
Nana Patekar - Class act
Ranbir Kapoor - Gets better with each film
Arjun Rampal - Very decent
Katrina Kaif - Improving
Naseeruddin Shah - Okay. Very breif role

My take: 4 out 5

P.S there are many scenes in the film cut from the UK version as some scenes just go unexplained maybe due to violence