There's an old saying, Bollywood and controversies always go hand in hand. We have seen many Hindi films who have either faced banned or were been protested to be banned in the country. One such film is Madras Cafe, which although released all over in India on August 23, except in Tamil Nadu. From 'Madras Cafe' (2013) to 'Aandhi' (1975), check out the top 20 such movies that were banned or were being protested to be banned in the past.
Madras Cafe (2013)Produced and Starring John Abraham, the film's alleged depiction of rebels in the Sri Lankan civil war raised concerns. After the trailer release, Tamil political parties Naam Tamilar, besides Pattali Makkal Katchi, demanded for a ban on the movie citing that it reflects the members of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as terrorists. MDMK party chief Vaiko sought a ban on the movie from the Centre. The film however did not release in Tamil Nadu as exhibitors feared the movie is not worth taking risk amidst controversy.
Written, directed and co-produced by Kamal Haasan, Vishwaroopam has been in the news for several critically viewed controversies. The first of this kind was the title naming issue, where the Hindu Makkal Katchi party demanded the change from its current Sanskrit title to a purely Tamil one.
Later, Muslim groups in Tamil Nadu demanded the ban of the film and claimed that the film would hurt Muslim sentiments. Although the film was cleared by Central Board of Film Certification of India, District collectors in the state of Tamil Nadu gave orders to the theatre owners to not show Vishwaroopam, citing Law and order problems, however the film released in other states with greater Muslim populations than in Tamil Nadu. The ban in Tamil Nadu also triggered the stop of screenings in neighbouring Indian states and foreign markets.
A mutual agreement with the protested Muslims associations of Tamil Nadu was finally settled on February 2013, when Haasan accepted to mute five scenes.
Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)'Gangs of Wasseypur' (1 and 2) is co-written, produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap and narrates the power struggles between three crime families. People of the Wasseypur village had staged protests at the time of the release of the film.
Aarakshan is a 2011 Indian Hindi drama film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. Directed by Prakash Jha, the film is a socio-political drama based on the controversial policy of caste based reservations in Indian government jobs and educational institutions.
The film was banned in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh before its theatrical release. The Punjab government banned the film on fears that certain scenes and dialogues in the film may inflame the passion of some communities in Punjab. Mayawati government banned the film in UP for two months on grounds that it could create law and order problem in the state.
Prakash Jha and producers of Aarakshan moved the Supreme Court to lift the ban on the film in the three states. Supreme Court lifted the ban on Aarakshan in Uttar Pradesh later.
Dam 999 (2011)Directed by Sohan Roy, the film Dam 999 is based on the award winning short documentary DAMs - The Lethal Water Bombs, and the Banqiao dam disaster of 1975 that claimed the lives of 250,000 people in China and anticipated calamity for outdated dams in the world. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) complained that the film is based on the Mullaperiyar Dam dispute between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It was thus banned for allegedly spreading fear among people regarding the Mullaperiyar dam.
Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India and looks at the aftermath in its effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". The film is the directorial debut of actress Nandita Das and stars Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, Paresh Rawal, Raghubir Yadav, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Sanjay Suri, and Tisca Chopra.
Firaaq was allegedly not released by many theatres due to political pressure because it depicted the 2002 Gujarat riots. But, theatre owners cited a revenue sharing dispute. Later it won two National Film Awards at 56th National Film Awards.
Deshdrohi (2008)Deshdrohi is a 2008 Hindi movie dealing with the regional influences present in India. The film stars Kamaal Rashid Khan, Krishna Abhishek, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Gracy Singh and Zulfi Syed. The film was banned in November fearing breakdown of law and order in the state. The film depicted the attacks against North Indians in the state. The ban was lifted in January 2009 by the Bombay High Court.
Jodhaa-Akbar is an Indian epic historical drama film released on 15 February 2008. Starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in lead, the movie is directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film revolves around the romance between the Muslim Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great, played by Hrithik Roshan, and the Hindu Rajput Princess Jodhabai who becomes his wife, played by Aishwarya Rai.
The film was banned in Madhya Pradesh after protests from the Rajput community over Jodha Bai's depiction as Akbar's wife. The Supreme Court later lifted the ban. The film was not released in Rajasthan too after theatre owners received letters written in blood from Karni Sena. Also in Uttar Pradesh it was banned fearing breach of peace after protests from a Rajput group. The Supreme Court later lifted the ban.
Aaja Nachle (2007)Aaja Nachle stars Madhuri Dixit in her first film after six years, alongside Konkona Sen Sharma, Jugal Hansraj, Akshaye Khanna and Kunal Kapoor in pivotal roles.
The movie was banned in Uttar Pradesh, Harayana, and Punjab on the 1st three days of its release over alleged casteist remarks. It was banned because the lyrics of the title song were allegedly humiliating the Dalits. The lyrics were later changed and the ban was lifted later after the producers apologized.
Parzania (2007)Parzania is a 2007 Indian drama film co-written and directed by Rahul Dholakia, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika in the lead roles. The film is inspired by the true story of a ten-year-old Parsi boy, Azhar Mody, essayed in the film as Parzaan Pithawala in the film, who disappeared after the 28 February 2002 Gulbarg Society massacre, during the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 during which 69 people were killed. The film traces the journey of the Pithawala family while trying to locate their missing son.
Parzania faced an unofficial ban after Bajrang Dal coaxed theatre owners to stop screening the film. Bajrang Dal activist Babu Bajrangi had the opinion that it may disrupt communal harmony in the state.
Fanaa (2006)Fanaa is a 2006 Indian Hindi romantic crime film, directed by Kunal Kohli and starring Aamir Khan and Kajol in pivotal roles. Aamir Khan while promoting his film in Gujarat made some comments regarding the Gujarat chief minister's handling of the Narmada Dam and the necessity to rehabilitate the displaced villagers. It faced an unofficial ban due to the role of Aamir Khan in the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Supreme Court of India directed that theatres wanting to screen the film should be provided police protection. But, most theatre owners decided not to screen it.
Water is a 2005 Canadian film directed by Deepa Mehta and written by Anurag Kashyap, who also did the dialogue translation. It is set in 1938 and explores the lives of widows at an ashram in Varanasi, India. The film starred Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray, John Abraham, and Sarala Kariyawasam in pivotal roles.
The movie faced opposition during its shooting from hard-line Hindu organizations in Varanasi. The sets were destroyed. The Uttar Pradesh government decided to stop the shooting on 31 January 2000. The shooting was shifted to Sri Lanka later. The movie was released in India much later in March 2007.
Black Friday (2004)'Black Friday', a 2004 film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, earned the ire of some political sections for focusing on the aftermath of the Bombay blasts in 1993. As the movie was based on the 1993 Bombay bombings, the released was blocked until the verdict of the lawsuit by the Bombay High Court on the petition of the under-trials. The film was originally set to be released in India on 28 January 2005. The producers appealed at the Supreme Court but the High Court order was upheld. The movie finally saw its release on 9 February 2007.
Paanch is an unreleased Indian film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap and starring Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Vijay Maurya, Joy Fernandes and Tejaswini Kolhapure. The film is "loosely" based on the 1976-77 Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders in Pune.
The film never got a theatrical or home-video release. The Central Board of Film Certification objected to the film's violence, the depiction of drug abuse and bad language. After some cuts, the film was cleared in 2001. However, it could not be released as the producer faced some problems.
Earth (1998)Earth is a 1998 film directed by Deepa Mehta. It is based upon Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Cracking India, originally published as Ice Candy Man in 1988, England. 'Earth' is the second installment of Mehta's Elements trilogy. It was preceded by Fire (1996) and followed by Water (2005). It triggered various kind of controversies at the time of its release.
Fire is a 1996 film directed and written by Deepa Mehta and starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. It is the first installment of Mehta's Elements trilogy. It is followed by Earth (1998) and Water (2005). The film is loosely based on Ismat Chugtai's 1941 story, Lihaf (The Quilt). It was one of the first mainstream films in India to explicitly show homosexual relations. After its 1998 release in India, certain groups staged several protests around issues such as homosexuality and freedom of speech, where they burned posters, shouted slogans and damaged theatre properties.
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 Indian film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters. Because of its title, government officials made many periodic visits to the set to ensure proper Indian film etiquette. The cast had to thus improvise fake scenes which avoided the nudity and sexuality central to the story. Upon completion, authorities screened the film and it was subsequently banned in India because of the erotic scenes that contained heterosexual as well as homosexual elements (the lesbianism was depicted in an explicit scene, whereas the male homosexuality was more implied).
Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the real-life of Dacoit Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was banned temporarily by the Delhi High Court after Phoolan Devi, the subject of the film's story, challenged its authenticity.
Kissa Kursi Ka is a 1977 Hindi film directed by Amrit Nahata, who was a member of Indian parliament and produced by Badri Prasad Joshi. The film was a satire on the politics of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi and was banned by the Indian Government during the Emergency period and all the prints were burned. The subsequent Shah Commission established by Government of India in 1977 to inquiry into excesses committed in the Indian Emergency found Sanjay Gandhi guilt of burning the negative, along with V. C. Shukla, Information and Broadcasting minister of the time.
Aandhi is a 1975 Indian political drama film was directed by lyricist Gulzar. The film was supposedly based on then-prime minister Indira Gandhi's life, but in reality, only the look was inspired by politician Tarkeshwari Sinha, apart from Indira Gandhi. The film story is based around a chance meeting of a married couple after years of separation, when wife Aarti Devi, now a leading politician happens to stay in the hotel run by her estranged husband during an election campaign. The movie was not allowed a full release when Mrs.Gandhi was in power. The film was banned in 1975's emergency. After her loss in the 1977 elections, the ruling Janata party cleared it and had it premiered on national television.
