Modi biopic cleared with 11 cuts, scene of him monitoring anti-terror ops deleted

The Central Board of Film Certification has also told the producers to delete apparently communal dialogues and a scene mocking Manmohan Singh.

Poster of the film PM Narendra Modi | Facebook

New Delhi: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Tuesday cleared the release of PM Narendra Modi with 11 cuts or modifications, hours after the Supreme Court refused to stop its release, stating it had not yet been certified and the challenge to it was a non-issue.

The film is now scheduled to release on 11 April, the day the first round of voting in the Lok Sabha elections takes place. It has received ‘U’ certification, meaning that it can be viewed by all.

An examining committee of the CBFC had viewed the film last week and recommended the cuts and modifications, and the filmmakers agreed to them Tuesday.

The film has run into controversy after opposition parties and common citizens had alleged that it is a propaganda film, which can influence voters if released in the middle of the elections.

The cuts

The cuts or modifications suggested by the CBFC include removing shots and dialogues about Modi, as Gujarat chief minister, monitoring “anti-terrorist” operations from ground zero at the Akshardham temple, because of a lack of documentary proof.

It has also asked for dialogues like “Yahan ka har ek nagrik Hindu hai (every citizen is Hindu here)” to be changed.

The CBFC has also asked the makers of the film to mute apparently communal dialogues, such as ‘ek Pathan’ in the dialogue “Murti pooja karne wala ek pandit bhi hamaare liye ek Hindu hai aur but-parasti mein na maannewala ek Pathan bhi hamaare liye Hindu hai”. “Ek Pathan” has been replaced by “ek insaan”.

The CBFC has also sought the removal of scenes of tents being erected for Modi in a temple area, and that of Modi distributing auto-rickshaw keys to the women of Gujarat, as no proof was available to substantiate the claims of this scheme being implemented during his tenure as Gujarat CM.

Another scene it has asked to be cut is one where then PM Manmohan Singh is apparently ridiculed. The CBFC also wants the name of ‘Mr Manishankar’ removed from the script — the character is presumably based on Mani Shankar Aiyar, who speaks dialogues like “anpadh, gawaar” and “use toh angrezi bhi nahi aati”, for which again the producers have been able to provide no proof.

Vajpayee & Advani’s names voluntarily removed

ThePrint has learnt that the filmmakers had voluntarily decided to remove the names of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani and other political personalities from the film, since there was a lack of documentary evidence to support the relevance of their names being used in certain scenes.

The apex court had said Tuesday that it was the EC’s call to decide whether the film violated the model code of conduct.

Last month, the CBFC had written to the poll watchdog seeking advice on how to certify films of a political nature.

It had also suggested inviting the EC to the examining committee during the screening of such films to advise the CBFC on the modalities to be followed during the model code of conduct.

However, in a subsequent communication to the EC dated 25 March, accessed by ThePrint, the CBFC said it was examining films with a social or political theme on a case-to-case basis on the basis of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

This report has been updated with additional information