India's Film Censorship Is Getting More Political - and a New Data Leak Reveals Just How Deep It Runs

"In February this year, Indian filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan walked into the film censor board's office confidently, hoping for a swift certification process. After all, he believed his film was "safe" enough to pass the censorship test - no sex, no gore, no profanity, and no Bollywood innuendo. "Phule" is a reverential tale of anti-caste reformers Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, two figures so celebrated that they routinely appear in school textbooks and on posters adorning the walls of the very government office tasked with certifying them."

"He even planned a release on Jyotirao Phule's birth anniversary (April 11). And yet, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) panicked. The CBFC's examining committee suggested "routine edits" - delete some dialogue here, replace the visuals there. Then silence. A second screening by the revising committee - bureaucratic scrutiny masked as due diligence - followed to ensure that the original committee "had not missed out on anything.""

"It then dawned on Mahadevan that the movie was not as "safe" after all. "Phule's" uncompromising critique of the caste system, he figured, was too provocative for India 's current political climate. A member of the Brahmin community (perceived as the most elite of all social classes) watched the trailer - not the film - and complained to the CBFC's CEO, who then redirected his grievance to Mahadevan, instead of defending the filmmaker."

Filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan submitted Phule, a reverential biopic of Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, for certification and planned release on Jyotirao Phule's birth anniversary. The Central Board of Film Certification's examining committee requested edits, then the revising committee held a second screening. A Brahmin viewer complained after seeing the trailer, prompting the CBFC to engage the filmmaker rather than defend the film. The board later demanded replacing every use of the word "caste" in English subtitles with the Sanskrit term "varna", raising questions about sensitivity to caste critique and the political climate's impact on certification. The process delayed the film's release.

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