Netflix has fully stopped streaming uncensored cuts of Indian films around the world, according to a review of films released this year. The change in policy is significant for what was possibly the last streaming service in India that continued to show versions of Indian films before they went through the Central Board of Film Certification, which has increasingly been scrubbing films of political references, particularly those that are disparaging to the dispensation in power.
The film Bheed, set in the pandemic, had voice-overs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, as well as a host of other political references, a copy of the cut list from the censor board shows. These references were heavily edited at the CBFC’s behest. Netflix chose to stream this version globally, instead of the version that the filmmakers had prepared. Now, that template is being applied to all Indian films, even in ways that go against Netflix’s internal policy on some forms of censorship.
Films like Leo, starring the Tamil actor Vijay, have been censored globally on Netflix, even though the film was released uncut in overseas markets. OMG 2, a film about sex education that was censored to remove depictions of the actor Akshay Kumar as the Hindu deity Shiva even after being given an ‘A’ rating for adults, also released censored, leading the film’s director to complain about Netflix’s decision in interviews with entertainment publications.
