Indian film board cuts 'Superman 'kissing scenes after deeming them too 'sensual'
The nation's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has cut two scenes from the flagship DC Universe film, which was directed by James Gunn and stars David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan as the man in tights and his reporter love interest, Lois Lane.
Though the CBFC asked for several curse words to be muted or cut from the film, the main cuts which attracted attention depict Corenswet and Brosnahan kissing. The first takes place early in the film, when Clark Kent/Superman leans in for a peck in Lois' kitchen. The second, a memorable, 33-second shot depicts Superman lifting Lois off her feet inside a shopping arcade as they kiss. In both instances, the film cuts away from all or part of the kiss as the characters lean in, picking back up after they've already parted ways, and in both scenes the actors are fully clothed.
By way of justifying the cuts, the CBFC characterized each scene as a "sensual visual." Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for CBFC, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.
CBFC records indicate that Superman was granted the proper certificate on July 7, four days before Superman's global release. The film obtained a UA 13+ certificate, meaning it was cleared for unrestricted public exhibition, but parental guidance was advised for viewers under 13 years old - roughly equivalent to an American PG-13 rating.
Discovery of the cuts angered some viewers in India, who pointed out seeming discrepancies in discretion. The violent thriller Jaat, for instance, released in India in April, was allowed to keep scenes of beheadings and violent torture, and there were no issues with several gory murder scenes in Haneef Adeni's 2024 neo-noir Marco. But "Superman kissing Lois Lane is where we draw the line," wrote Indian content creator Anmol Jamwal in a Friday X post.
Actress Shreya Dhanwanthary deemed the cuts "ridiculous" in her own X post from Friday, adding, "Sure this is the least of our worries but is something done about anything else? There is some crap every day. Every. Damn. Day."
The anger over the Superman cuts builds on previous backlash to cuts from F1: The Movie and Thunderbolts*. The CBFC ordered a shot which depicted star Brad Pitt looking at his phone to see an incoming text featuring a middle finger emoji changed to a fist emoji. In the latter case, the CBFC asked for certain swear words to be removed or muted from the theatrical cut of the film.
Censorship like this isn't unheard of stateside, it should be said, as streaming giants like Disney+ have been found to have instituted a sweeping round of cuts to films like Toy Story 2 and series like Hannah Montana on its platform.Indian viewers are certainly missing out on Corenswet and Brosnahan's chemistry, however, which the stars showed off in an exclusive recent video for EW that you can view below.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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