Ram Gopal Varma is known to add a lot of sensuality in his films. Several of his films like Rangeela (1995), Daud (1997), Naach (2004), Nishabd (2007), among others generated buzz due to the ‘hotness’ quotient. He’s also known for making action films and his upcoming venture, Ladki, is a combo of both sensuousness and fights. Touted as India’s first martial arts film, it stars Pooja Bhalekar in the lead. The trailer and the first look have grabbed eyeballs already and also after the makers claimed that it’ll get a wide, simultaneous release in China as well, on July 15.
However, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has asked the makers to cut several dialogues and scenes in the film. As per the cut list, cuss words like ‘saali’ and ‘c*****a’ have been muted in four places. 12 close-up shots of cleavage, butt and pelvis were asked to be removed and replaced with unobjectionable shots. Other ‘vulgar’ cuts asked to be removed are visuals of the protagonist jumping and a character staring at the protagonist’s body parts and taking his tongue out. The CBFC also asked to remove 50% visuals in the scene where the villain rips off the clothes protagonist.
The CBFC also asked for certain dialogues to be removed, which they found objectifying the female protagonist, like ‘Kya leg piece hai’, ‘Yahin ke yahin rape kar doonga’, ‘Pichle saptaah maine apni biwi ko bech diya’, ‘Main auraton ko ek object…’, ‘Bister mein…’ and ‘Mujhpe ucchalna…’. Also, other dialogues like ‘Maarne se pehle, I want to taste her’, ‘Sab kuch karunga’, ‘Tu aur baaki log uske saath sab kuch kar lena’ and ‘Taste kharab ho jaayega’ were snipped.
Talking of audio cuts, the CBFC instructed the makers to remove all Sanskrit shlokas, citing that ‘they were used in inappropriate context and presentation, considering the religious sentiments attached’. Lastly, the names of alcohol labels were blurred.
After these cuts were carried out, the CBFC granted ‘A’ certificate to Ladki, on September 22, 2021. On May 29, the makers of Ladki went back to the CBFC after they voluntarily deleted the song ‘Sapna Sach Hua’ along with two scenes. This reduced the length of the film by 3 minutes, and 38 seconds. The final duration of Ladki is now 129 minutes, that is, 2 hours and 9 minutes.
Often, many filmmakers have cried foul when the CBFC has imposed modifications to their films. However, when contacted, Ram Gopal Varma made it clear that he had no objection to these cuts. He said, “There are more than a thousand shots in a film. If a few of them got cut, it’s fine and I have no problem.”
