Radhika Apte’s Sister Midnight Faces Censorship Ahead of India Release
The popular Radhika Apte is once again in the news — not just for her acting prowess, but because of a CBFC mandate that has raised new questions about artistic merit and censorship in India.
Sister Midnight, a film that caused a stir at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, has now received an ‘A’ certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), but only after being instructed to make changes to the film; one of those changes was to remove a scene where there was frontal nudity.
About the Film
Sister Midnight, directed by Karan Kandhari, tells the troubling story of Uma, a new bride who is ruled by an emotionally abusive marriage. A psychological slow-burn infused with gothic elements, the film investigates the chilling process of disrupting Uma’s life in a patriarchal environment.
CBFC’s Objections and Changes
CBFC, apparently, flagged one sequence featuring frontal nudity for having objectionable content.
“The filmmakers were advised to remove the sequence to comply with the requirements of Indian certification,” said the source.
Oddly enough, the same film, Sister Midnight, was rated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), and it had partial breast and buttock nudity, but the specific sequence — at around 1 hour and 11 minutes — has since been removed for Indian audiences.
Revisions: Muted Swear Words & Superstition Disclaimer
To complement the edited cuts, CBFC also asked that all profanity be muted in the film, which is a new approach by the board relative to how they have typically dealt with mature content.
Most bizarrely, the board also required a superstition disclaimer at the top of the film. The disclaimer reads as follows:
“This film is a work of fiction. The applicant of this film, the producer, the director, the artist, and every other person involved in this film does not intend to promote, propagate, or encourage superstition, the supernatural, witchcraft, or black magic on any level.”
The board had heard that there were spiritual or symbolic metaphors in the movie which some audiences may have taken as supernatural and therefore wanted to make sure it was clear that they are fictional.
International Hit, Domestic Restraint
While the film was praised at Cannes 2024, where Radhika Apte received accolades for being fierce and vulnerable, its release in India is going through its traditional issues of balancing artistic expression and cautious regulators.
Radhika Apte is known to choose multifaceted and provocative roles, and Sister Midnight seems to be in a similar vein. With previous performances in Parched, Sacred Games, and Raat Akeli Hai, she has built a reputation as an edgy performer who takes risks.
Box Office Worldwide Verdict
Radhika Apte‘s Sister Midnight may have abbreviated its corners for Indian audiences, but the crux of the story — a psychological unravelling of an abused woman — is intact.
With the mandatory disclaimer and cuts imposed by the CBFC, it will likely now have a clean run into theatres without further controversy. But these recent events have again received backlash and raised further questions regarding the friction between artistic intent and social conservatism through the lens of Indian cinema.
Will Indian audiences accept the censored version, or will it now galvanise the discourse regarding mature storytelling in the country? Only time — and box-office revenues — will tell.
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