
Middle-Finger Emoji To Fist In F1, No Nudity In Oppenheimer: Most Ridiculous Censor Changes In Recent Films
The Internet is having a lot of fun with this completely unnecessary and unintentionally funny edit in F1, it's time we revisit a few of such changes, cuts, and chops by the CBFC AKA Censor Board in the last few years.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Historical epic Oppenheimer, which went on to earn multiple Oscars, including the first best director trophy for Christopher Nolan and best actor award for Cillian Murphy, created quite a stir in India after eagle-eyed viewers found out that the CBFC made Florence Pugh wear a little black CGI dress in a scene from the film.
Some countries are censoring #Oppeneheimer by putting a CGI black dress on Florence Pugh 😭 pic.twitter.com/Bt0Ymxd859
— 🖤 Physical Media Forever 🖤 (@VHSDVDBLURAY4K) July 24, 2023
Florence Pugh played the role of psychiatrist Jean Tatlock who has an affair with Murphy's J Robert Oppenheimer in the film. In this scene, Jean Tatlock and J Robert Oppenheimer are engaged in a deep conversation, in which she was originally topless, as Christopher Nolan envisioned.
Who would have thought that master filmmaker Christopher Nolan's film would fall prey to the Indian Censor Board.
Padmaavat (2018)
In what is a running joke in one of Varun Grover's most popular stand-up comedy acts about Padmaavat and the controversy that broke back in 2018, people are so gullible that they wouldn't know if the name of the film was changed from Padmavati to Padmaavat.
The lavishly-mounted Rs 150 crore period drama, featuring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, was based on the 16th century epic poem Padmavat by Malik Muhammad Jayasi.
The CBFC suggested that Padmavati must become Padmaavat so that the sentiments of the public, particularly a few fringe Rajput groups, are not hurt.
According to Censor Board Chief Prasoon Joshi, the board had only advised five modifications in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali epic, including the title change, but "no cuts".
Rajput groups had also raised an objection over a dream love sequence between Rani Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) and Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) in the movie. Since Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh were dating at the time, the speculation added fuel to the fire.
All went sort of bust when these claims turned out to be completely untrue. But then there are still many who believe the dream sequence was very much a part of Padmaavat, which would have appeared right before the song Binte Dil in which Ranveer Singh is shown relaxing in a bathtub.
Spectre (2015)
James Bond may have the licence to kill but he didn't have the licence to kiss for as long as he would have wanted to. When Daniel Craig's James Bond kissed Monica Bellucci's Lucia Sciarra in Spectre, the CBFC members apparently counted the number of seconds that kiss lingers. The length of the kissing scene was reduced to half.
Hashtags such as #SanskariJamesBond also trended on Twitter, now X, with memes galore on the microblogging site.
Even Emraan Hashmi, who had infamously earned the tag of an on-screen 'serial kisser' courtesy kissing scenes in his films, spoke against the Censor Board's decision.
"They (board) had cut the length (of the kiss). They have their rules and regulations. There are a lot of people who are against it (the kissing scene). Snipping it has no logic. I also feel it is like going back to the dark ages. We are not taking steps forward," the actor had said at the time.
Baar Baar Dekho (2016)
In this Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra-starrer, the Censor Board removed a scene featuring a bra because the CBFC found it allegedly offensive and because it could do so.
At the time, people would stutter even while uttering the word 'bra', so showing it on screen would have been revolutionary. Previously, 2014 also saw bras being blurred in films such as Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Queen.
That's not to say that people have become comfortable with talking about bras out loud. But, at least, filmmakers have somewhat come of age. Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023) had a full sequence dedicated to bra shopping and thankfully the filmmaker didn't blur any of them.
Babygirl (2024)
This erotic drama, starring Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson, was heavily censored for its sexual content and received an 'A' certificate.
According to reports, a 1-minute-34-second intimate scene featuring "jerking off and frontal nudity" was chopped. Several other cuts were made to remove nudity and tone down scenes with sexual context.
What Lies Ahead
It is another day, another movie, but it's still a great time to be reminded that the CBFC stands for the Central Board of Film Certification and nowhere does the abbreviation mention the term censor. The film body is meant to certify the films, not chop and cut films.
F1 is certainly not the first film to be censored and it won't be the last.
Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Punjab 95, directed by Honey Trehan, is still stuck with the censors. The makers of the film, based on the life of the Punjabi human rights activist Jaswinder Singh Khalra, have been asked to make 127 cuts to Punjab 95.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

New Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Time is precious
It's poetry in pigment. An artful masterpiece that plants Indian watch major, Titan, firmly in the ultra-luxury segment. Nebula by Titan unveiled the Jalsa Tourbillon—in a fitting odyssey of royal opulence in Jaipur. With the global icon of the Pink City hand painted on the dial, the 18k gold wrist piece marks an ode to the 225 years of the blushing Hawa Mahal, with the caparisoned tusker lorded over by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, who built the crown edifice in 1799. Crafted in fine marble and rose agate, with only 10 pieces marking its horological debut, it is Titan's entry to the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve 2025—dubbed the Oscars of the watchmaking world. The entourage of inclusions marks a breakout in artisanal luxury: the hand-painted marble dial by Padma Shri Shakir Ali—renowned for his miniatures in Mughal and Persian art—brings in natural gemstone pigments and forgotten techniques. The heartbeat of the priceless timepiece lies in the skilful, precision powered balance in the movement of the hands: accentuated with pink agate and the sapphire magnifier. If you're looking at dropping seven figures, this wildest watch from the homegrown brand is for you. Priced at Rs 40.5 lakh, Jalsa is a celebration, weighing 68 grams, and aimed to adorn the wrists of the luxury and cerebrally stylish minds across the world.


Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Vanessa Hudgens' second pregnancy reveal couldn't be more different from her Oscars red carpet moment
Vanessa Hudgens is stepping into motherhood again with husband Cole Tucker, just a year after her first pregnancy reveal stole the spotlight on the Oscars red carpet. This time, the Bad Boys: Ride or Die star shared the news in a way no one saw coming. On Saturday, she took to Instagram with a trio of photos featuring her and Tucker, all smiles, as she proudly showed off her growing bump. Also read: 'Desperate' Brad Pitt sees glimmer of hope as one kid keeps his last name; begs for 'one final shot' amid Angelina Jolie feud 'Round two!!!!' Hudgens wrote alongside the pictures shot by photographer Jorden Alexander DeGaetano. The couple kept it heavenly white for the shoot, twinning as they adorably cradled and looked at each other with proud, loving grins. In several snaps, they pointed at her belly, making the message clear. Hudgens looked beautiful and radiant in a boho-inspired two-piece, and it wasn't long before their comments section filled with love and congratulatory messages. The announcement was a far cry from her first pregnancy reveal. Back then, she debuted the bump on the red carpet in a gothic sheer black ensemble that made headlines. A post shared by 🔮Vanessa Hudgens🔮 (@vanessahudgens) The announcement comes just a week after the Bandslam actor dropped a poetic birthday note for husband Cole Tucker, who turned 29. She posted a goofy selfie of the two wearing funky shades and making silly faces at the camera. 'Happy birthday to my best friend/lover/partner in life,' she wrote. '@cotuck you're everything to meeeeeee. No one does it better.' Tucker replied, 'You're the best mama, thank you ❤️.' Fun fact, he shares his birthday with their firstborn, who arrived last year on July 3. Also read: Orry parties with Vanessa Hudgens and Malaika Arora as Jennifer Lopez performs her iconic numbers. Watch Back when she gave birth for the first time, Hudgens had posted, 'Happy birthday to my slice of heaven,' alongside a photo of the two with their dog. 'You make the world a brighter place just by being you.' That baby news, however, was leaked by a media outlet. At the time, Hudgens called out the intrusion: 'We're disappointed that our family's privacy was disrespected and exploited during this very special time due to the greed of a long lens camera feeding the media,' she wrote on Instagram Stories on July 4. Still, she reassured fans, 'Despite all of that, mom, dad, and baby are happy and healthy.' Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker started dating in 2021. The actor shared that she met her future husband through a Zoom meditation group. In December 2023, after nine months of being engaged, the two tied the knot in Tulum, Mexico, at Azulik City of Arts. 'He's just kind of perfect for me,' Hudgens told Entertainment Tonight in April 2021. 'I am [happy]. I really am. I think it's also so important to stay grateful for everything you have in life. I've made that a priority, and it's just been making magic happen even more.'


The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
Top 5 Must-Watch Shows & Movies This Week
This week on FOMO Fix, Sudhish Kamath takes you on a ride through five wild titles that push the limits of human nature—and your trust. • Jurassic World: Rebirth bites into our hubris with dino-sized spectacle • Brad Pitt's F1 puts pedal to fantasy in a turbocharged box office hit • Squid Game Season 3 dares you to watch… and then questions your conscience • Traitors and Criminal Justice finales unpack betrayal and poetic justice • And Pune Highway is a darkly funny bromance murder mystery with more secrets than survivors Watch till the end for this week's TV Gold recommendation you don't want to miss. FOMO Fix is your weekly 8-minute recommendation show that helps you avoid bad watches and discover what's worth your time. Script, Host & Editing: Sudhish Kamath